EARLY 

NEW  ENGLAND 

SCHOOLS 


WALTER.  HERBERT  SMALL 


^^ 


FERTYOFTHE 

k  is  loaned  tothe  pupi I  ireed  charge.  '\ 
ked  upon  withpencil  or  ink,  &nci:'-"' '  - 
<:  pupil  loses,  or  unnecessarily  de 
rriust  pavfor  ii  The  bock  may  U»cwi<ec 
v.^., ,  ty  permission  oi  the  leacher, 

t«  the  HIGH  School. 


fT;L3 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/earlynewenglandsOOsmaliala 


EARLY 
NEW  ENGLAND    SCHOOLS 


BY 


WALTER  HERBERT  SMALL,  A.M. 

LATE   SUPERINTENDENT   OF   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS 
PROVIDENCE,  RHODE    ISLAND 


PROPERTY  OF  THE 

TOWN   Oli^iiiJtj^sON. 

This  Book  is  loaned  tothVpupiTfreTofcharec.  It 

m.st  not  be  marked  upon  with  pencil  or  ink.  and  must  be 

iu L'    Ll    '  ^"'"'  '"''"'■  ^^  """^^e^^arily  defaces  or 

honne  for  study,  fc>y  permission  of  the  teacher. 

Supplied  tofhe  HIGH  School. 


BOSTON  AND  LONDON 

GINN  AND  COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS 

1914 


COPYRIGHT,  1914,  BY  GINN   AND   COMPANY 

ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


ttbt  fltbengum   grt«< 

GlNN  AND  COMPANY  •  PRO- 
PRIETORS •  BOSTON  •  U.S.A. 


DEDICATED  TO 

DR.  ALBERT  F.  BLAISDELL 

FRIEND  AND  TEACHER  OF  MY  STUDENT  DAYS 


838048 


FOREWORD 

The  object  of  this  book  is  not  so  much  to  furnish  the 
author's  opinions  and  conclusions,  as  to  furnish  the  material 
from  which  the  reader  may  form  his  own  opinions  and  con- 
clusions. With  this  in  view,  much  is  given  directly  from  the 
old  records,  retaining  the  quaint  phraseology  and  construc- 
tion but  modernizing  the  spelling  for  greater  ease  in  reading. 

The  order  is  that  of  the  logical  development  of  the  schools 
through  their  various  transition  periods,  with  such  excerpts 
from  the  laws  as  show  the  growth  in  legal  power. 

The  motive  for  the  work  lies  in  the  following  statement  in 
Mr.  George  H.  Martin's  preface  to  his  book,  "The  Evolution 
of  the  Massachusetts  School  System."  He  says,  "This  book 
is  not  a  history  .  .  .,  for  such  a  work  the  materials  are  ample 
and  only  await  the  approach  of  some  one  who  has  time  and 
the  inclination  to  use  them." 

The  curiosity  aroused  by  that  statement  led  to  the  first 
record,  that  to  the  second,  until  curiosity  became  a  disease. 
However,  this  is  not  a  history,  but  rather  the  materials  out 
of  which  history  may  be  made. 

WALTER  HERBERT   SMALL 


NOTE 

Of  the  following  work,  Mr.  Small  left  fully  completed  at 
his  death  Chapters  I-XII,  inclusive.  Chapter  XIX  was 
an  address  delivered  before  an  audience  of  teachers.  The 
remaining  chapters  were  arranged  by  the  editor  from  the 
references  collected  and  classified  by  Mr.  Small,  coupled 
with  outlines  and  memoranda  of  varying  degrees  of  fullness. 
The  material  for  certain  chapters  projected  by  him  was  found 
to  be  too  meager,  and  has  been  somewhat  rearranged  and 
combined  with  other  subjects.  The  effort  to  preserve,  as  far 
as  possible,  the  author's  own  words  has  doubtless  produced 
an  occasional  abruptness,  which  would  have  disappeared 
under  his  own  revision,  but  the  editor  has  been  unwilling  to 
make  any  changes  that  were  not  absolutely  necessary.  He 
has  felt  that  those  who  knew  Mr,  Small  and  were  honored 
with  his  friendship  would  prefer  his  own  vigorous,  if  unfin- 
ished, utterances  to  the  smoother  sentences  of  a  reviser. 

WILLIAM   HOLDEN   EDDY 
Providence,  R.  I. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.   THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  TO  1700  i  • 
IL   THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  AFTER 

1700 32 

III.  THE  MOVING  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS  58 

IV.  THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER 87 

v.    SCHOOLMASTERS*  SALARIES 122 

VI.   THE  DAME  SCHOOL  AND  THE  SCHOOL  DAME  .  162 

VIL   THE  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS 187 

VIII.    LAND  GRANTS  AND  DONATIONS 214 

IX.    SCHOOLHOUSES 240 

X.   HEATING  AND  THE  SCHOOL  WOOD  TAX     ...  261 

XI.   THE  EARLY  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS 275 

XII.   EDUCATIONAL  STRAWS 290 

XIII.  RISE  OF  ENGLISH  SCHOOLS 305 

XIV.  PRIVATE  SCHOOLS 311 

XV.   GOVERNMENT  OF  SCHOOLS 321 

XVI.   VISITATION 334 

XVII.   ENFORCEMENT  OF  LAWS  AGAINST  ILLITERACY  344 

XVIII.    SCHOOLROOM  AND  PUPILS 353 

XIX.    ARITHMETIC  IN  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND      ...  358 

XX.   OTHER  STUDIES 365 

XXI.    SCHOOL  SESSIONS  AND  YEARS 378 

-  XXIL    DISCIPLINE 384 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 397 


EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL 

(1635-1700) 

In  studying  the  Latin  grammar  school  of  New  England 
previous  to   1700,  only  a  portion  of  the  present  territory 
really  comes  under  consideration.    Early  action  relative  to*^ 
schools  depended  much  on  the  character  of  the  settlers,  the^ 
purpose  of  their  coming,  their  previous  education,  the  con- 
trolling spirit  of  the  leaders,  and  somewhat  on  their  wealth 
and  surroundings.    The  initial  spirit  of  it  all  was  in  the  Mas-  . 
sachusettsBay  Colony,  and,  when  some  of  the  people  from 
around  Boston  migrated  to  Hartford,  Windsor,  and  Weth- 
ersfield  and  founded  the  Connecticut  Colony,  the  spirit  went 
with  them.   The  same  spirit  is  found  in  the  New  Haven  Col- 
ony ;  it  spread  to  the  Plymouth  Colony,  and  later  its  reflection 
fell  upon  New  Hampshire,  which  was  under  Massachusetts 
law  until  1680.    The  founders  of  Rhode  Island  wanted  noth-' 
ing  in  common  with  the  people  who  banished  them,  not  even  ^ 
their  education  ;  and  the  status  of  the  Maine  settlers  is  found 
in  this  remark  of  Winthrop's  :  "  They  ran  a  different  course^ 
from  us  both  in  their  ministry  and  in  their  civil  administra-^ 
tion."    Vermont  was  not  settled. 

The  study  really  narrows  to  the  consideration  of  four  con- 
federations—  the  two  in  Massachusetts,  which  united  in  1692,- 
and  the  two  in  Connecticut,  which  united  in   1665.    The^ 


2       EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

essence  of  the  Massachusetts  law  of  1647  was  embodied  in 
the  Connecticut. code  of  1650,  the  New  Haven  code  of  1656, 
the  Plymouth  law  of  1670,  and  was  taken  practically  entire 
by  New  Hampshire  in  1680,  These  vary  somewhat,  but 
only  in  unimportant  details.  Upon  the  union  of  these  four 
confederations  into  two  colonies,  the  1647  law  prevailed 
for  the  larger  Massachusetts,  and  the  1650  code  for  the 
larger  Connecticut. 

In  the  beginning  the  most  strenuous  efforts  were  exerted  at 
Boston  and  New  Haven  under  the  leadership  of  four  men  — 
Cotton  and  Eliot  at  the  first,  Davenport  and  Eaton  at  they 
second.   Without  the  Reverend  John  Cotton,  New  England  ^ 
might  not  have  had  the  grammar  school  at  all,  certainly  not 
at  so  early  a  period.    Arriving  in  1633,  in  two  years  he  in- 
fluenced Boston  to  cast  that  memorable  vote  of  entreaty  to 
Brother  Philemon  Pormont  to  undertake  the  "'  teaching  and    / 
nourturing  of  children  among  us."    The  school  was  begun "^ 
the  next  year  under  Mr.  Daniel  Maude.    Harvard  College 
was  founded  two  years  later.   Mr.  Cotton  was  upon  the  work- 
ing committee,  and  from  that  time  until  his  death,  in  1652, 
his  voice  and  influence  were  directed  toward  education. 

The  Reverend  John  Eliot,  of  Roxbury,  was  an  able  exponent  "^ 
of  the  same  views.  Mather,  in  his  "  Magnalia,"  says  of  him  : 
"A  grammar  school  he  would  always  have  upon  the  place, 
whatever  it  cost  him  :  and  he  importuned  all  other  places  to 
have  the  like.  I  cannot  forget  the  ardor  with  which  I  even 
heard  him  pray,  in  a  synod  of  these  churches  which  met  at 
Boston,  to  consider  '  how  the  miscarriages  which  were  among 
us  might  be  prevented.'  I  say  with  what  fervor  he  uttered  an 
expression  to  this  purpose :  '  Lord,  for  schools  everywhere 
among  us.  O  that  our  schools  may  flourish.  That  every 
member  of  this  assembly  may  go  home  and  procure  a  good 
school  to  be  encouraged  in  the  town  where  he  lives.  That 
before  we  die  we  may  see  a  good  school  encouraged  in  every 
plantation  of  the  country.'  God  so  blessed  his  endeavors,  th^t 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL    3 

Roxbury  could  not  live  quietly  without  a  free  school  in  the 
town  ;  and  the  issue  of  it  has  been  one  thing  which  has  made 
me  almost  put  the  title  of  Schola  Illustris  upon  that  little 
nursery  :  that  is,  '  That  Roxbury  has  afforded  more  scholars, 
first  for  the  college  and  then  for  the  public,  than  any  town 
of  its  bigness,  or  if  I  mistake  not,  of  twice  its  bigness,  in  all 
New  England.'  " 

The  enthusiasm  of  these  men  and  the  influence  of  the 
college  were  felt  in  the  settlements  clustered  near  the  coast 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  the  several  schools  were  founded 
in  the  following  order. 

Massachusetts  Bay  Colony 

The  Boston  Latin  School,  whose  history  has  been  too  fre- 
quently written  to  need  extensive  narration  here,  was  begun 
in  1635  or  1636.  There  is  nothing  in  the  Boston  records  tO' 
show  that  Mr.  Pormont  ever  accepted  service  under  the  vote 
already  alluded  to,  but  the  next  year,  1636,  the  wealthier  in- 
habitants met  and  subscribed  funds  "towards  the  maintenance 
of  a  free  schoolmaster  for  the  youth  with  us."  There  were 
forty-five  contributors  to  this  fund,  and  the  list  was  headed 
by  "the  Gov.  Mr.  Henry  Vane,  Esq.  10  pounds."  In  1637 
the  town  voted,  "  also  that  Mr.  Daniel  Maude,  schoolmaster, 
shall  have  a  garden-plot  next  unto  Stephen  Kinsley's  house- 
plot,  upon  like  condition  of  building  thereon  if  need  be." 
The  town,  by  land  rentals,  soon  took  upon  itself  the  support 
of  the  school.  In  1665  it  had  grown  sufficiently  large  to 
require  an  assistant,  and  one  was  hired  "  to  assist  Mr.  Wood- 
mansey  in  the  grammar  school  and  teach  children  to  write." 
In  1670  Mr.  Ezekiel  Cheever  began  his  long  service  wi 
the  school. 

Because  of  this  long  service,  the  following  records  are  in- 
teresting. At  a  meeting  at  the  house  of  Governor  Richard 
Bellingham,  October  22,  1670,  "  it  was  ordered  and  agreed 
that  Mr.  Ezekiel  Cheever,  Mr.  Thompson,  and  Mr.  Hinksman 


itb/ 


4       EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

should  be  at  the  Governor's  house  that  day  seven  night,  to 
treat  with  them  concerning  the  free  school." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  selectmen  at  the  governor's  house  on 
the  twenty-ninth,  "'  it  was  agreed  and  ordered  that  Mr.  Eze- 
kiel  Cheever  should  be  called  to  and  installed  in  the  free 
school  as  headmaster  thereof,  which  he  being  then  present,  ac- 
cepted of :  likewise  that  Mr.  Thompson  should  be  invited  to 
be  assistant  to  Mr.  Ezekiel  Cheever  in  his  work  in  the  school, 
which  Mr.  Thompson  being  present,  desired  time  to  consider 
and  to  give  his  answer ;  and  upon  the  3rd  day  of  January, 
gave  his  answer  to  Major  Gen.  Leveret  in  the  negative,  he 
having  had  and  accepted  of  a  call  to  Charlestown." 

On  November  6  the  selectmen,  "  being  met,  repaired  to 
the  school  and  sent  for  Mr.  Thompson  who,  when  he  came, 
declared  his  removal  to  Charlestown,  and  resigned  up  the  pos- 
session of  the  school  and  the  schoolhouse  to  the  Gov.  who 
delivered  the  key  and  possession  of  the  school  to  Mr.  Ezekiel 
Cheever  as  the  sole  master  thereof.  And  it  was  further 
agreed  that  the  said  Mr.  Cheever  should  be  allowed  60 
pounds  per  annum  for  his  services  in  the  school,  out  of  the 
town's  rates  and  rents  that  belong  to  the  school,  and  the 
possession  and  use  of  the  schoolhouse." 

This  was  the  only  school  in  Boston  for  nearly  half  a  cen-  <  / 
tury,  and  its  chief  work  was  to  fit  boys  for  Harvard  College.  '^ 
Allusions  to  it  are  frequent  in  the  town  records. 

The  school  at  Charlestown  was  begun  in  1636.  Though  it 
is  not  mentioned  as  a  grammar  school,  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe  it  was  one,  even  at  the  outset.  It  certainly  was  a 
grammar  school  in  1661  when  Ezekiel  Cheever  became  master, 
and  in  1671  the  second  article  of  agreement  with  Benjamin 
Thompson  read,  '"  That  he  shall  prepare  such  youth  as  are 
capable  of  it  for  the  college,  with  learning  answerable." 

When  Salem  voted  the  Reverend  John  Fiske  in  as  an  in- 
habitant in  1637,  there  was  little  thought  in  the  minds  of  the 
voters  that  from  that  act  Salem  would  have  one  of  the  oldest 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL    5 

schools  in  New  England.  Such  is  the  recorded  fact,  how- 
ever, and  to-day  she  points  with  pride  to  the  tablet  on  her 
old  Latin  school  building:  "Founded  in  the  Year  1637." 
Few  early  votes  relative  to  the  school  are  recorded,  but  they 
are  sufficient  to  show  its  continuous  existence.  In  1670  it 
was  voted  that  "the  selectmen  shall  take  care  to  provide 
a  grammar  schoolmaster,"  and  one  was  engaged  for  twenty 
pounds.  In  1677  the  subjects  of  instruction  are  given  as(y 
English,  Latin,  and  Greek,  good  manners,  and  the  principles  1/ 
of  Christian  religion.  These  were  taught  the  scholars  "so  as 
to  fit  them  for  the  university,  if  desired  and  they  are  capable." 
In  1 71 2  a  committee  was  chosen  to  select  a  teacher  for  the 
Latin  school,  and  from  this  point  allusions  to  the  school  are 
frequent. 

The  year  1639  witnessed  Dorchester's  famous  agreement 
whereby  a  yearly  rental  of  twenty  pounds  was  placed  on 
Thompson's  island,  "to  be  paid  to  such  a  schoolmaster  as 
shall  undertake  to  teach  English,  Latin,  and  other  tongues, 
and  also  write."  Later  in  the  year,  the  Reverend  Thomas 
Waterhouse  was  elected  schoolmaster. 

In  "  New  England's  First  Fruits  "  appears  this  sentence  : 
"  And  by  the  side  of  the  college,  a  fair  grammar  school  for 
the  training  up  of  young  scholars  and  fitting  of  them  for 
academical  learning,  that  still  as  they  are  judged  ripe,  they 
may  be  received  into  the  college  :  of  this  school,  Master 
Corlett  is  the  master  who  has  very  well  approved  himself 
for  his  abilities,  dexterity,  and  painfulness  in  teaching  and 
education  of  the  youth  under  him." 

The  exact  date  of  the  beginning  of  the  Cambridge  school 
is  not  known,  but  in  1643  Mr.  Elijah  Corlett  had  been  there 
long  enough  to  establish  a  reputation  for  "  skill  and  faithful- 
ness." The  first  mention  of  the  school  in  the  town  records 
is  this:  "September  13,  1648;  it  was  agreed  at  a  meet- 
ing of  the  whole  town,  that  there  should  be  land  sold  of  the 
common  for  the  gratifying  of  Mr.  Corlett  for  his  pains  in 


6       EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

keeping  a  school  in  the  town,  the  sum  of  lo  pounds,  if  it  can 
be  attained,  provided  it  shall  not  prejudice  the  cow  common." 
This  ten  pounds,  which  was  obtained  the  following  spring, 
was  recorded  as  a  "  gratuity  from  the  town."  In  1680  he 
was  still  there,  though  the  report  to  the  county  court  showed 
"  his  scholars  are  in  number  nine  at  present." 

In  the  year  1645  the  inhabitants  of  Roxbury  founded 
their  grammar  school  "  in  consideration  of  their  religious 
care  of  posterity,"  and  because  they  recognized  "  how  neces- 
sary the  education  of  their  children  in  literature  will  be,  to 
fit  them  for  public  service,  both  in  church  and  common- 
wealth, in  succeeding  ages."  This  was  and  is  an  endowed 
school.  In  1666  the  town  was  invited  to  join  the  proprietors 
in  its  support  and  extension,  but  refused.  "  The  free  school 
could  not  receive  all  the  children,  yet  the  town  would  neither 
contribute  to  its  support  nor  propose  any  other  plan." 

There  are  strong  indications  that  Braintree  founded  a 
school  about  the  same  time  as  Roxbury,  though  there  is  no 
direct  evidence  of  this  fact  in  the  records  until  1735.  In 
that  year,  a  petition  was  sent  to  the  General  Court  asking 
for  certain  grants  ;  among  them  is  this  :  '"  And  likewise 
grant  us  something  gratis  for  our  having  kept  a  free  Latin 
school  for  about  ninety  years." 

These  seven  schools  were  the  feeders  in  Massachusetts  to 
Harvard  College.  They  were  qualified  to  meet  the  require- 
ments for  admission,  which  were  not  excessive  :  "  When  any 
scholar  is  able  to  read  TuUy  or  such  classical  author,  extem- 
pore, and  speak  true  Latin  in  verse  and  prose,  and  decline 
perfectly  the  paradigms  of  nouns  and  verbs  in  the  Greek 
tongue,  then  they  may  be  admitted  into  college,  nor  shall 
any  claim  admission  before  such  qualifications." 

Other  inducement  than  persuasion  was  needed,  and  the 
law  of  1647  was  enacted,  making  it  obligatory  upon  towns 
of  one  hundred  families  to  maintain  a  grammar  school,  "  the 
masters  thereof  being  able  to  instruct  youth  so  far  as  they  may 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL    7 

be  fitted  for  the  university."  To  stimulate  scholastic  activity, 
a  penalty  of  five  pounds  was  affixed  for  all  such  towns  not 
having  such  a  school. 

There  is  no  way  of  ascertaining  how  many  towns  were 
affected  by  this  law ;  certainly  there  was  no  rapid  increase  in 
grammar  schools,  and  the  records  of  many  towns  show  no 
desire  to  establish  such  schools  until  they  had  reached  the 
full  legal  standard  of  one  hundred  families ;  ninety-nine 
were  not  enough. 

The  extreme  brevity  of  the  ancient  record  makes  it  ex- 
ceedingly difficult  in  many  cases  to  differentiate  the  kind  of 
school  established.  As  far  as  may  be  judged,  however,  the 
order  of  schools  following  the  law  seems  to  be  this  : 

In  1650  Watertown  elected  Richard  Norcross  school- 
master, "  for  the  teaching  of  children  to  read  and  write,  and 
so  much  of  Latin  according  to  the  order  of  the  Court";  and 
the  next  year  he  was  reengaged  to  instruct  "  in  English,  writ- 
ing or  Latin  according  to  the  capacity  of  the  persons."  The 
fee  for  Latin  was  fixed  at  fourpence  per  week.  Mr.  Norcross 
remained  in  the  service  for  twenty-five  years,  when  there 
was  a  desire  to  obtain  a  schoolmaster  "  as  cheap  as  they  can." 
But  in  1679  Mr.  Norcross  was  again  sought  and,  to  save 
expense,  the  selectmen  made  this  agreement  with  him  :  "  To 
keep  the  school  at  the  schoolhouse  for  the  year  following, 
and  to  begin  the  9th  of  April,  1679,  and  to  teach  both  Latin 
and  English  scholars,  so  many  as  may  be  sent  unto  him  from 
the  inhabitants,  and  once  a  week  to  teach  them  the  catechism  ; 
only  in  the  months  of  May,  June,  July  and  August,  he  is  to 
teach  only  Latin  scholars  and  writers,  and  them  at  his  own 
house,  and  there  to  afford  them  all  needful  help,  and  the 
other  eight  months  at  the  schoolhouse,  both  Latin  and  Eng- 
lish scholars,  for  which  the  selectmen  agree  that  he  shall 
have  20  pounds." 

The  people  complained  of  the  agreement,  so  the  school 
was  kept  at  the  schoolhouse  the  whole  year,  and  Mr.  Norcross 


y 


8       EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

received  twenty-five  pounds.  The  next  year  the  school  was 
'^ade  an  EngUsh  school,  but  the  court  ordered  the  town  to 
provide  a  grammar  school,  and  Richard  Norcross  was  again 
engaged  at  a  salary  of  twenty-five  pounds  and  the  fees  of  the 
Latin  scholars.  In  1690  repeated  complaints  were  made  to 
the  county  court  of  the  deficiency  of  schools  in  Watertown, 
and  in  1696  "the  selectmen  applied  to  Mr.  Edward  Goddard 
to  teach  school,  to  whom  he  replied  that  if  they  would  repair 
the  schoolhouse  and  give  him  20  pounds,  he  would  come ; 
but  the  town  did  not  accept  the  terms  and  the  town  was 
fined  for  not  having  a  school." 

Ipswich  made  an  attempt  to  establish  one  of  the  very 
early  grammar  schools ;  the  result  is  found  in  this  record  of 
1636  :  "  A  grammar  school  is  set  up  but  does  not  succeed." 
Mr.  Lionel  Chute  was  the  master.  Some  years  later,  "  after 
several  overtures  and  endeavors  among  the  inhabitants  of 
said  Ipswich,  for  settling  a  grammar  school  in  that  place," 
Robert  Payne  offered  to  "  erect  an  edifice  for  such  a  purpose, 
provided  it  might  be  put  into  the  hands  of  certain  discreet 
and  faithful  persons  of  the  said  town  and  their  successors, 
which  he  himself  should  nominate,  to  be  ordered  and  man- 
aged by  them  as  feoffees  in  trust  for  that  end,  and  their 
successors  forever,"  provided  also  that  the  town  or  private 
inhabitants  would  furnish  funds  for  the  maintenance  of  a 
schoolmaster.  In  1650  the  town  made  a  grant  of  land  for 
that  purpose.  In  165 1  all  the  feoffees  were  empowered 
'"  to  receive  all  such  sums  of  money  as  have  and  shall  be 
given  towards  the  building  or  maintaining  a  grammar  school 
and  schoolmaster,  and  to  disburse  and  dispose  such  sums  as 
are  given  to  provide  a  schoolhouse  and  schoolmaster's  house, 
either  in  building  or  purchasing  the  said  house,  with  all  con- 
venient speed ;  and  such  sums  of  money,  parcels  of  land, 
rents  or  annuities  as  are  or  shall  be  given  towards  the  main- 
tenance of  a  schoolmaster,  they  shall  receive  and  dispose  of 
to  the  schoolmaster  that  they  shall  call  and  choose  to  that 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL    9 

office  from  time  to  time  towards  his  maintenance,  which  they 
shall  have  power  to  enlarge  by  appointing  from  year  to  year, 
what  each  scholar  shall  yearly  or  quarterly  pay  or  proportion- 
ably.  Who  shall  also  have  full  power  to  regulate  all  matters 
concerning  the  schoolmaster  and  scholars  as  in  their  wisdom 
they  think  meet  from  time  to  time,  who  shall  also  consider 
the  best  way  to  make  provision  for  teaching  to  write  and 
cast  accounts." 

Payne  did  all  this  "  for  several  good  causes  and  consider- 
ations him  thereunto  moving,  especially  for  the  increase  of 
learning  in  the  next  generation."  He  gave  his  house  and  two 
acres  of  land  for  the  use  of  the  schoolmaster ;  other  endow- 
ments followed,  and  in  165 1  the  town  made  a  grant  of  land 
for  this  second  grammar  school.  This  was  the  school  of 
which  Mr.  Ezekiel  Cheever  was  master  for  ten  years  and 
made  "  famous  throughout  the  land," 

It  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  determine  with  certainty  what 
kind  of  school  was  established  in  Dedham.  It  began  in 
1644,  but  it  was  not  until  1653,  when,  among  other  things, 
the  master  agreed  to  teach  the  "Accidence,"  that  good  evi- 
dence exists  of  its  being  a  grammar  school.  Inferential  evi- 
dence might  be  drawn  from  the  fact  that  the  salary  all  these 
years  was  twenty  pounds,  and  as  there  was  usually  a  marked 
difference  between  the  salary  of  an  English  and  that  of  a 
Latin  master,  this  regular  salary  might  indicate  a  continuous 
grammar  school.  Future  votes,  however,  show  that  the  school 
was  intermittent  in  grade,  and  that  able  men  were  not  always 
in  charge. 

In  1663  the  master  agreed  to  teach  "'  the  Latin  tongue  so 
far  as  he  can  and  to  try  for  one  quarter  of  a  year  how  he 
may  suit  with  the  town."  There  were  further  interruptions. 
Grammar  was  again  mentioned  in  1667.  There  was  difficulty 
in  obtaining  schoolmasters,  but  in  1685  an  agreement  was 
made  with  Mr.  Holbrook  "  to  keep  the  school  and  to  teach 
such  children  as  come,  to  read  and  write  both  English  and 


lO      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Latin  according  to  his  ability  and  their  capacities."  In  1691 
the  town  was  presented  for  not  having  a  grammar  school. 
During  all  these  years  the  salary  varied  between  ten  pounds 
and  thirty  pounds.  It  seems  fair,  then,  to  conclude  that  this 
school  was  not  a  grammar  school  until  the  "Accidence"  is 

entioned  in  1653. 

The  1647  law  seems  not  to  have  had  any  far-reaching 
effect.  Here  are  but  three  schools  founded  immediately  after 
its  passage.  Newbury,  in  1658,  according  to  the  court  records, 
"  upon  their  presentment  for  want  of  a  Latin  school,  is  to  pay 
5  pounds  to  Ipswich  Latin  school,  unless  they  by  the  next 
court  provide  a  Latin  schoolmaster  according  to  law."  There 
is  no  town  record  to  show  what  was  done,  and  the  grammar 
school  does  not  appear  for  nearly  a  generation  later.  In  1687 
a  committee  "agreed  with  Mr.  Seth  Shove  to  be  the  Latin 
schoolmaster  for  the  town  of  Newbury  for  the  present  year." 
In  1 69 1  Latin  scholars  paid  sixpence  per  week.  The  school 
then  was  a  "moving"  school,  kept  in  three  parts  of  the  town. 
In  1696  the  schoolmaster  was  offered  "  30  pounds  in  coun- 
try pay  . . . ,  provided  he  demand  but  four  pence  per  week  for 
Latin  scholars,  and  teach  the  town's  children  to  read,  write 
and  cipher  without  pay."  There  are  many  votes  relative  to 
the  grammar  school  after  this. 

A  Hingham  contract  of  1670  says :  "  Henry  Smith 
engageth  that  with  care  and  diligence  he  will  teach  and 
instruct,  until  a  year  be  expired,  in  Latin,  Greek,  and  Eng- 
lish, in  writing  and  arithmetic."  This  grammar  school  was 
probably  continued,  though  in  1690  it  was  voted  "that  the 
selectmen  of  the  town  shall  hire  a  schoolmaster  as  cheap  as 
they  can  get  one,  provided  they  shall  hire  a  single  man  and 
not  a  man  that  have  a  family."  At  this  time  the  town  was 
paying  taxes  in  milk  pails.  Various  votes  concerning  the 
grammar  school  were  passed  during  the  next  hundred  years. 

Wobum  made  two  attempts  to  establish  a  grammar  school 
but  without  any  success.    In  1685  the  selectmen  appointed 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       il 

Mr.  Samuel  Carter,  a  Harvard  graduate,  "to  keep  a  grammar 
school  that  year  with  a  salary  of  5  pounds  per  annum." 
There  were  no  pupils.  The  following  year  he  was  re- 
appointed, but  was  promised  only  thirty  shillings  unless 
scholars  came,  when  he  should  have  five  pounds.  There 
were  again  no  pupils,  and  Mr.  Carter  probably  holds  the 
unique  place  of  being  the  only  grammar  schoolmaster  who 
ever  received  two  years'  salary,  meager  though  it  was,  for 
doing  nothing.  Another  attempt  was  made  in  1694,  when 
Mr.  Jabez  Fox  was  engaged  '"  to  teach  and  instruct  any  chil- 
dren belonging  to  this  town  of  Wobum,  to  write  and  in  the 
grammar,  all  and  so  many  as  shall  be  sent  in  to  him  now  for 
one  year  ensuing."  Five  years  later  he  was  engaged  "  to 
keep  school  a  year  for  instruction  in  grammar  alone."  No 
compensation  is  mentioned  for  either  of  these  years,  nor  is 
there  any  record  that  he  received  any.  He  seems  to  have 
been  a  master  for  convenience,  provided  within  the  letter  of 
the  law  that  the  town  might  escape  the  penalty  for  not  having 
a  grammar  school. 

Shattuck  claims  that  Concord  had  a  grammar  school  pre- 
vious to  1680,  but  a  report  to  the  county  court  at  Cambridge 
that  year  says,  "As  for  grammar  scholars  we  have  none 
except  some  of  honored  Mr.  Peter  Buckley's  and  some  of 
Rev.  Mr.  Esterbrook's  whom  he  himself  educates."  This 
casts  doubt  upon  the  existence  of  a  grammar  school,  and  it 
is  known  that  in  the  spring  of  1665  the  town  was  complained 
of  for  "  not  having  a  Latin  schoolmaster,"  and  that  similar 
complaints  were  made  for  the  next  four  or  five  years.  There 
was  no  schoolhouse  until  Captain  Timothy  Wheeler  gave 
one  in  1687.  The  school  must  have  been  established  soon 
after  this,  for  in  1692  a  committee  was  appointed  to  petition 
the  general  court  "to  ease  us  in  the  law  relating  to  the  gram- 
mar schoolmaster."  The  school  was  continued,  however,  for 
a  few  years  later  the  pupils  were  charged  a  tuition  fee  of 
fourpence  per  week. 


12      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

The  third  clause  of  the  agreement  with  the  second  school- 
master at  Northampton  in  1667  was  "  six  pence  per  week  to 
learn  the  'Accidence,'  writing,  casting  accounts."  But  there 
was  so  much  difficulty  afterwards  in  obtaining  masters  that 
the  Ipswich  record  almost  might  be  repeated  here,  "  Set  up 
but  did  not  succeed."  In  1668  the  school  was  given  per- 
manency by  this  vote :  "  The  town  considering  of  the  need 
of  a  schoolmaster  that  should  be  able  to  instruct  the  children 
and  youth  in  learning,  and  so  be  able  to  instruct  such  chil- 
dren as  their  parents  desire  to  bring  up  to  learning  to  fit 
them  for  the  college,  that  so  they  may  be  fit  for  the  service 
of  God  in  the  church  or  otherwise  in  the  public,  voted  to 
give  20  pounds  out  of  the  town's  stock,  this  to  be  beside 
what  may  be  raised  on  the  scholars  which  shall  come  to  be 
taught  by  him,  and  ordered  the  selectmen  now  to  be  chosen 
to  procure  one  that  may  be  suitable  for  the  service  above 
expressed  for  the  year  ensuing." 

Five  years  later  the  town  voted  that  it  should  be  made  a 
free  grammar  school  for  twenty  years,  and  the  master's  salary 
was  made  forty  pounds,  raised  by  rate  upon  the  inhabitants. 
This  was  strongly  opposed  by  influential  men,  but  at  the  end 
of  the  twenty  years  the  town  again  voted  to  "  maintain  a 
grammar  school  in  the  town  for  twenty  years  next  coming, 
and  to  be  paid  by  the  town  in  the  same  kind  and  portion 
other  taxes  are  paid,  and  that  the  selectmen  for  the  time  be- 
ing annually  take  care  to  hire  a  schoolmaster  the  best  way 
and  manner  they  can,  and  this  act  to  continue  till  the  town 
shall  for  cause  recede  from  it." 

Hadley  received  three  hundred  eight  pounds  out  of  the 
Hopkins  legacy  for  grammar  schools,  and  in  1667  this 
record  was  made  :  "  The  town  have  granted  to  and  for  the 
use  of  a  grammar  school  in  this  town  of  Hadley  and  to  be 
and  remain  perpetually  to  and  for  the  use  of  said  school,  the 
two  little  meadows."  In  168 1  a  committee  was  appointed 
"  to  get  a  schoolmaster  to  teach  Latin  and  English."    Tuition 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL        13 

rates  were  fixed  at  twenty  shillings  a  year  for  Latin  scholars 
and  sixteen  shillings  for  English.  The  school  is  frequently 
mentioned  from  this  time  on.  In  1743  Josiah  Pierce,  a  Har- 
vard graduate,  became  master,  "  to  instruct  in  reading,  writ- 
ing, arithmetic,  Latin  and  Greek."  He  was  master  of  the 
school  for  eighteen  years. 

In  Lynn,  in  1700,  the  selectmen  chose  the  Reverend 
Mr.  Shepherd  "  to  keep  a  grammar  school,"  for  which 
thirty  pounds  were  voted  the  next  year.  As  Mr.  Shepherd, 
the  minister,  had  also  been  the  schoolmaster  almost  con- 
tinuously since  1687,  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  this  vote  does 
not  mark  the  beginning  of  the  grammar  school,  but  rather 
that  it  had  always  been  such  a  school  during  Mr.  Shep- 
herd's term  of  service.  In  1702  the  grammar  master  was 
allowed  forty  pounds,  and  Latin  pupils  were  charged  six- 
pence per  week. 

Marblehead,  in  1698,  had  as  schoolmaster  Josiah  Cotton, 
a  Harvard  graduate,  who  soon  entered  the  ministry,  but  re- 
turned and  taught  another  half  year.  In  his  diary  he  says : 
"  Calling  at  Marblehead  and  they  remaining  still  destitute  of 
a  schoolmaster,  I  agreed  with  them  again,  upon  the  advance- 
ment of  my  salary  from  the  town,  under  the  former  regula- 
tion for  particular  scholars,  for  they  would  not  make  it  a  free 
school,  and  tarried  half  a  year  longer  in  the  school,  and  de- 
sire to  acknowledge  it  as  a  favor  that  my  service  therein  as 
well  as  before  was  acceptable  and  successful.  The  people 
there  being  generally  if  not  universally  inclined  to  give  their 
children  common  learning,  though  scholars  rise  but  thin 
amongst  them.  There  was  but  one  that  went  from  thence 
whilst  I  kept  school,  to  the  college.  .  .  .  There  was  another 
designed,  but  death  put  an  end  to  the  design."  This  is  merely 
circumstantial  evidence  of  a  grammar  school ;  it  probably 
cleared  the  legal  demands  but  lacked  popularity  and  strength. 

Springfield  doubtless  had  an  intermittent  grammar  school 
previous  to  1690,  for  in  1693  it  is  recorded  :  "The  inhabitants 


14  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

of  Longmeadow  desiring  to  get  a  schoolmaster  to  teach  their 
children  to  read  and  write,  and  so  to  be  exempt  from  paying 
to  any  such  schoolmaster  in  the  town,  it  was  voted  in  the 
affirmative  with  this  proviso,  that  they  pay  their  proportions 
with  the  rest  of  the  town  on  all  occasions  for  a  grammar 
school."  In  1698  it  was  voted  "that  the  General  Court  be 
petitioned  unto  that  this  town  may  be  freed  from  keeping  a 
grammar  school  and  that  they  keep  three  or  four  schoolmasters 
or  school  dames  to  teach  to  read  English,"  and  two  men 
"  are  desired  to  lay  the  circumstances  before  the  honored 
court  of  this  town." 

Again  in  1700  :  "  Whereas  there  was  a  writing  presented 
to  the  town  that  the  grammar  school  might  be  kept  seven 
months  in  the  year  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  and  at  the 
long  meadow ;  and  the  town  plat  to  have  it  five  months,  the 
town  voted  they  would  condescend  so  far  as  that  those  on 
the  west  side  of  the  river  and  long  meadow  should  have  him 
six  months,  and  the  town  plat  five  months  for  this  year  only." 
There  is  proof  that  the  school  was  still  kept  in  1708,  for  a 
man  was  convicted  of  selling  liquor  illegally  and  was  fined 
forty  shillings,  to  be  paid  to  the  grammar  school  in  Spring- 
field. The  school  was  kept  for  succeeding  years,  as  frequent 
allusions  to  the  different  masters  are  made  in  the  records. 
In  1734  it  was  voted  "to  appoint  some  suitable  person  to 
prefer  a  petition  to  the  General  Assembly  to  obtain  a  grant 
of  some  land  for  the  support  of  a  grammar  school." 

Plymouth  Colony 

In  the  Plymouth  Colony  no  movement  was  made  toward 
this  form  of  education  until  the  law  of  1670,  "granting  all 
such  profits  as  may  or  shall  accrue  annually  to  the  colony 
from  fishing  with  nets  or  seines  at  Cape  Cod  for  mackerel, 
bass  or  herring,  to  be  improved  for  and  towards  a  free  school 
in  some  town  in  this  jurisdiction,  for  the  training  up  of  youth 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       15 

in  literature  for  the  good  and  benefit  of  posterity,  provided  a 
beginning  were  made  within  one  year  after  the  said  grant." 
The  rentals  from  this  fishery  amounted  to  thirty-three  pounds 
a  year. 

The  school  was  soon  established  at  Plymouth,  for  the  court 
records  say :  "  Within  the  time  limited  there  hath  been  a 
beginning  made  at  Plymouth  and  hitherto  continued  by  God's 
blessing  with  good  success  as  upon  examination  may  appear : 
and  whereas  the  said  town  in  general  have  given  and  granted 
whatsoever  profits  may  anyway  arise  from  or  by  the  improve- 
ment of  a  considerable  tract  of  upland  and  meadow  belonging 
to  the  said  town  of  Plymouth,  lying  at  Agawam,  Sepecan 
and  places  adjacent,  for  and  towards  the  maintenance  and 
upholding  of  the  said  school  at  Plymouth ;  as  also  since 
several  of  the  town  of  Plymouth  out  of  their  good  affections, 
have  fully  given  out  of  their  own  estates,  for  the  erecting  or 
procuring  a  convenient  schoolhouse,  not  only  for  the  better 
accommodating  of  the  scholars,  but  also  for  the  schoolmaster 
to  live  and  reside  in."  The  court  gladly  takes  this  trust  "to 
encourage  and  carry  on  the  said  well  begun  work  at  New 
Plymouth  so  long  as  God  shall  be  pleased  to  afford  any  com- 
petency of  means  and  convenient  number  of  scholars." 

This  school  probably  did  not  become  a  grammar  school  until 
1672,  when  Mr.  Corlett  from  Harvard  was  elected  master.  In 
the  same  year  the  town  voted  unanimously,  as  referred  to  in  the 
court  record,  that  their  land  at  "  Sepecan,  Agawam  and  places 
adjacent,  the  profits  and  benefits  thereof,  shall  be  improved 
and  employed  for  and  towards  the  maintenance  of  the  free 
school  now  begun  and  erected  at  Plymouth."  The  new  mas- 
ter devoted  himself  so  zealously  to  Latin  and  Greek  that  the 
people  became  dissatisfied,  and  in  1674  voted  that  the  chil- 
dren "  be  taught  to  write  and  cypher  besides  that  which  the 
country  expects  from  the  said  school." 

In  1677  a  law  was  passed  "  that  in  whatsoever  township 
in  this  government  consisting  of  fifty  families  or  upwards. 


l6      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

any  meet  man  shall  be  obtained  to  teach  a  grammar  school," 
the  town  making  a  reasonable  appropriation,  "  the  profits 
arising  from  the  Cape  fisheries  hereto  ordered  to  maintain  a 
grammar  school  in  the  Colony,  shall  be  distributed  to  such 
towns  as  have  such  grammar  schools,  not  exceeding  5  pounds 
per  annum  to  any  one  town,"  unless  there  was  some  good 
reason  why  the  court  treasurer  should  grant  more.  Like  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  law  of  thirty  years  previous,  this  law  con- 
tained a  penalty  :  "And  further  this  Court  orders  that  every 
such  town  as  consists  of  seventy  families  or  upwards,  and 
hath  not  a  grammar  school  therein,  shall  allow  and  pay  unto 
the  next  town  which  hath  such  grammar  school  kept  up 
amongst  them  the  sum  of  5  pounds  per  annum,  in  current 
merchantable  pay." 

This  same  year,  1677,  Duxbury  had  a  grammar  school  kept 
by  Mr.  Wiswall,  the  pastor,  and  the  court  order  of  1681-1682, 
distributing  the  Cape  money,  awarded  eight  pounds  "  to 
Mr.  Ichabod  Wiswall's  school  at  Duxbury."  ^e  continued 
the  school  until  1700, 

In  1678  the  court  gave  away  ten  pounds  of  the  Cape 
money,  five  pounds  to  a  widow  "'  and  the  other  5  pounds  to 
the  schoolmaster  at  Rehoboth,  in  reference  to  the  order  of 
the  court  disposing  such  pay  to  be  improved  towards  the 
keeping  of  a  grammar  school  in  each  town  of  this  jurisdic- 
tion, as  in  the  said  order  is  expressed."  Although  there  is 
no  mention  of  a  grammar  school  in  the  town  records  at  this 
time,  there  is  circumstantial  evidence  in  a  record  of  1680, 
where  a  schoolmaster  was  engaged  at  a  salary  of  twenty 
pounds  and  diet,  "  besides  what  the  Court  doth  allow  in  that 
case."  This  allusion  to  the  Cape  money,  the  amount  of  the 
salary,  the  award  of  five  pounds  in  1678,  and  another  award 
of  twelve  pounds  in  1681-1682,  prove  fairly  well  that  a  gram- 
mar school  was  founded  in  Rehoboth  in  1678.  There  are 
later  votes  showing  that  the  school  was  well  established.  In 
1708  there  was  an  agreement  with  a  schoolmaster  "to  instruct 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       17 

in  reading,  writing,  Grammar,  and  arithmetic,"  and  in  171 2 
the  town  appropriation  was  made  with  the  understanding 
that  the  old  part  of  the  town  "  be  obliged  to  maintain  a 
grammar  school." 

In  1683  Bristol,  afterwards  set  off  to  Rhode  Island,  voted 
"the  selectmen  to  look  out  a  grammar  schoolmaster  and  use 
their  endeavor  to  attain  5  pounds  of  the  Cape  money  granted  for 
such  an  end,"  There  is  no  proof  that  such  a  school  was  begun, 
and  Bristol  was  not  named  in  the  money  distribution  of  1683; 
yet  in  1699  scholars  paid  fourpence  a  week  for  their  Latin. 

The  last  recorded  distribution  of  the  Cape  money,  in 
1682-1683,  awarded  twelve  pounds  to  Barnstable  school, 
eight  pounds  to  Duxbury,  five  pounds  to  Rehoboth,  and 
three  pounds  to  Taunton.  Swansea  was  not  mentioned, 
though  in  1673  it  was  voted  "to  set  up  a  school  for  rheto- 
ric, arithmetic,  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew."  It  is  also  worthy 
of  note  that  Plymouth  is  not  mentioned  in  any  of  these  dis- 
tributions. In  1699,  however,  the  price  for  every  scholar 
"  that  comes  to  write  or  cypher  or  to  learn  Latin  "  was  fixed 
at  threepence  per  week. 

Thatcher,  in  his  "  History  of  Plymouth,"  says,  "  There  was 
no  grammar  schoolmaster  until  1699,"  evidently  basing  his 
view  on  the  above  vote ;  while  Goodwin,  in  his  "  Pilgrim 
Republic,"  says:  "In  1685,  a  Latin  school  was  ordered  in 
each  of  the  new  shire  towns  (Barnstable,  Plymouth,  and 
Bristol).  Each  pupil  from  those  towns  was  to  pay  three 
pence  a  week  for  English  branches  and  six  pence  when  he 
comes  to  his  grammar." 

After  1699  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  continuance  of  a 
grammar  school  in  Plymouth.  In  1705  the  cost  of  Latin  was 
made  fourpence  for  scholars  within  one  mile  of  the  school- 
house,  twopence  for  those  over  one  mile  and  within  two 
miles,  and  free  for  those  beyond  the  t\vo-mile  limit. 

The  Plymouth  Colony  law  seems  never  to  have  been  en- 
forced through  the  courts  as  the  Massachusetts  Bay  law  was, 


1 8      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

but  after  the  union  of  the  two  colonies  in  1692,  when  the  Bay 
law  of  1647  was  extended  over  the  engrafted  colony,  en- 
forcement began.  Taunton,  in  1697,  "then  did  make  choice 
of  Mr.  Samuel  Danforth  to  keep  a  grammar  school  here  in 
Taunton  this  present  year."  This  vote  was  caused  by  a  pre- 
sentment at  court,  in  answer  to  which  one  of  the  selectmen, 
Philip  King,  appeared,  "'  the  said  King  producing  in  this 
court  a  letter  from  Mr.  Danforth,  the  minister,  signifying  his 
approval  of  keeping  a  grammar  school  for  this  year." 

The  letter,  in  part,  reads  :  "This  may  certify  that  a  school 
has  been  kept  in  my  house  for  above  one  whole  year  past  for 
the  instruction  of  children  in  reading,  writing,  and  cyphering, 
to  which  many  children  came,  and  any  might,  and  others  would 
have  come  only  the  poverty  of  their  parents,  these  hard  times, 
prevented.  As  for  any  that  were  willing  to  learn  Latin,  etc., 
I  have  been  willing  to  teach  myself  ever  since  I  came  to 
Taunton,  but  one  yet  came  and  him  I  taught  as  far  as 
parents  desired." 

Sandwich  had  a  schoolmaster  in  1679,  because  his  tax 
rate  was  abated  "  for  his  encouragement."  Ten  pounds  was 
appropriated  for  salary  in  1695  and  the  same  amount  in 
1699,  when  he  was  called  "the  grammar  schoolmaster." 
Though  called  by  this  name,  he  was  to  "  teach  reading, 
writing,  and  arithmetic."  This  fact,  with  the  small  salary, 
and  the  fact  that  in  1 707  an  appropriation  of  twenty  pounds 
was  made  to  obtain  a  master  "to  instruct  the  children  in 
reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  and  Latin,"  with  the  additional 
proviso  that  "they  who  send  shall  pay  10  pounds  more," 
proves  the  name  a  misnomer,  and  tends  to  exclude  Sandwich 
from  the  list  of  towns  having  grammar  schools  previous 
to  1700. 

Barnstable,  which  received  a  portion  of  the  Cape  money 
in  1683,  and  is  credited  by  Goodwin  with  having  a  grammar 
school  in  1685,  does  not  mention  any  school  in  her  records 
until  1713. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       19 

New  Haven  Colony 

In  Connecticut,  as  early  as  1641,  the  New  Haven  Colony 
"  ordered,  that  a  free  school  shall  be  set  up  in  this  town,  and 
our  pastor,  Mr.  Davenport,  together  with  the  magistrates, 
shall  consider  what  yearly  allowance  is  meet  to  be  given  to 
it  out  of  the  common  stock  of  the  town,  and  also  what 
rules  and  orders  are  meet  to  be  observed  in  and  about  the 
same.  According  to  which  order,  20  pounds  a  year  was  paid 
Mr.  Ezekiel  Cheever,  the  present  schoolmaster,  for  two  or 
three  years,  at  first,  but  that  not  proving  a  competent  mainte- 
nance, in  August,  1644,  it  was  enlarged  to  30  pounds  a  year 
and  so  continueth." 

Mr.  Cheever  was  in  the  band  which  left  Boston  in  1638 
to  found  New  Haven,  and  Michael  Wigglesworth  records  in 
his  diary  the  fact  that  in  1639  he  learned  Latin  at  a  school 
kept  at  Mr.  Cheever's  house.  There  is  every  evidence  to  show 
that  this  first  school,  of  which  he  was  master,  was  a  Latin 
grammar  school.  Through  church  troubles  he  left  the  school 
in  1647,  and  the  master  who  followed  him  became  discouraged 
because  "  so  many  children  came  to  him  to  be  taught  their 
letters  and  so  few  to  study  the  classics."  Troubles  multiplied, 
until  the  town  school  was  given  up  for  a  colony  grammar 
school  pursuant  to  the  following  enactments : 

[1659]  "The  Court  looking  upon  it  as  their  great  duty  to 
establish  some  course  that  through  the  blessing  of  God,  learn- 
ing may  be  promoted  in  the  jurisdiction  as  a  means  for  the 
fitting  of  instruments  for  public  service  in  church  and  com- 
monwealth, did  order  that  40  pounds  a  year  shall  be  paid  by 
the  treasurer  for  the  furtherance  of  a  grammar  school  for  the 
use  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  jurisdiction,  and  that  8  pounds 
more  shall  be  disbursed  by  him  for  the  procuring  of  books  of 
Mr.  Blinman,  such  as  shall  be  approved  by  Mr.  Davenport 
and  Mr.  Pierson  as  suitable  for  the  work.  The  appointing 
of  the  place  where  this  school  shall  be  settled,  the  person  or 


20      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

persons  to  be  employed,  the  time  of  beginning  &c,  is  referred 
to  the  Gov.,  deputy  Gov.,  the  magistrates  and  ministers  set- 
tled in  the  jurisdiction,  or  so  many  of  them  as  upon  due 
notice  shall  meet  to  consider  of  this  matter." 

[1660]  "The  Court  being  deeply  sensible  of  the  small 
progress  or  proficiency  in  learning  that  hath  yet  been  ac- 
complished in  the  way  of  more  particular  town  schools  of 
later  years  in  this  colony,  and  of  the  great  difficulty  and 
charge  to  make  pay  &c,  for  the  maintaining  children  at  the 
schools  or  college  in  the  Bay,  and  that  notwithstanding  what 
this  colony  did  order  last  year  or  formerly,  nothing  hath  yet 
been  done  to  attain  the  ends  desired,  upon  which  considera- 
tions and  other  like,  this  Court  for  the  further  encourage- 
ment of  this  work,  doth  now  order  that  over  and  above  the 
40  pounds  per  annum  granted  the  last  year  for  the  end  then 
declared,  that  icx)  pounds  stock  shall  be  duly  paid  in  from 
the  jurisdiction  treasury,"  for  the  encouragement  of  a  colony 
grammar  school. 

The  school  was  located  at  New  Haven,  where  the  town 
provided  a  schoolhouse  and  granted  certain  lands  for  its 
support.  In  1660  Jeremiah  Peck  was  engaged  as  master: 
"  It  was  agreed  that  Mr.  Peck  now  at  Guilford  should  be 
schoolmaster,  and  that  he  should  begin  in  October  next, 
when  his  one  half  year  expires  there ;  he  is  to  keep  the 
school,  to  teach  the  scholars  Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew  and 
fit  them  for  the  college,  and  for  the  salary,  he  knows  the 
allowance  from  the  colony  is  40  pounds  a  year,  and  for 
further  treaties  they  must  leave  it  to  New  Haven  where  the 
school  is,  and  for  further  orders  concerning  the  school  and 
well  carrying  it  on,  the  elders  will  consider  of  some  against 
the  court  of  magistrates  in  October  next,  when  things  as  there 
may  be  cause,  may  be  further  considered." 

The  jurisdiction  records  of  1661  contain  a  lengthy  refer- 
ence to  this  school ;  it  sheds  so  much  light  on  the  conditions 
then  prevailing  that  it  is  worth  while  to  quote  it  in  full. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       21 

"  There  were  sundry  propositions  presented  by  Mr.  Peck, 
schoolmaster,  to  this  court,  as  follows : 

"  I .  That  the  schoolmaster  shall  be  assisted  with  the  power 
and  counsel  of  any  of  the  honored  magistrates  or  reverend 
elders,  as  he  finds  need  or  the  case  may  require. 

"2,  That  RectoresScholae  be  now  appointed  and  established. 

"3,  What  is  it  that  the  jurisdiction  expects  from  the  mas- 
ter, whether  anything  besides  instruction  in  the  languages 
and  oratory. 

"4.  That  two  indifferent  men  be  appointed  to  provide  and 
send  to  the  master  such  scholars  as  be  fitted  for  his  tuition. 

"5.  That  two  men  be  appointed  to  take  care  of  the  school, 
to  repair  and  supply  necessities  as  the  case  may  require. 

"6.  Whether  the  master  shall  have  liberty  to  be  at  neigh- 
bors' meetings  once  every  week. 

"7.  Whether  it  may  not  be  permitted  that  the  school  may 
begin,  be  it  at  eight  of  the  clock  all  the  winter  half  year. 

"8.  That  the  master  shall  have  liberty  to  use  any  books 
that  do  or  shall  belong  to  the  school. 

"  9.  That  the  master  shall  have  liberty  to  receive  into  and 
instruct  in  the  school,  scholars  sent  from  other  places  out  of 
this  jurisdiction,  and  that  he  shall  receive  the  benefit  of  them 
over  and  above  what  the  jurisdiction  doth  pay  him, 

"10.  That  the  master  may  have  a  settled  habitation  not 
at  his  own  charge. 

"11.  That  he  shall  have  a  week's  vacation  in  the  year,  to 
improve  as  the  case  may  require. 

"12.  That  his  person  and  estate  shall  be  rate  free  in 
every  plantation  of  this  jurisdiction. 

"  13.  That  one-half  of  the  year's  payment  shall  be  made 
to  and  accounts  closed  with  the  master  within  the  compass 
of  every  half  year. 

"  14.  That  40  pounds  per  annum  be  paid  to  the  school- 
master by  the  Jurisdiction  Treasurer,  and  that  10  pounds 
per  annum  be  paid  to  him  by  the  New  Haven  Treasurer. 


22      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

"15.  That  the  major  part  of  the  aforesaid  payments  shall 
be  made  to  the  schoolmaster  in  these  particulars,  as  follows  : 
viz.  30  bushels  of  wheat,  2  barrels  of  pork,  and  2  barrels  of 
beef,  40  bushels  of  Indian  com,  30  bushels  of  pease,  2  firkins 
of  butter,  100  pounds  of  flax,  30  bushels  of  oats. 

"  Lastly,  that  the  honored  Court  would  be  pleased  to  con- 
sider of  and  settle  these  things  this  court  time,  and  to  con- 
firm the  consequent  of  them,  the  want  of  which  things, 
especially  some  of  them,  doth  hold  the  master  under  dis- 
couragement and  unsettlement ;  yet  these  things  being  suit- 
ably considered  and  confirmed,  if  it  please  the  honored 
Court  farther  to  improve  him  who  at  present  is  school- 
master, although  unworthy  of  such  respect  and  weak  for 
such  a  work,  yet  his  real  intention  is  to  give  himself  up  to 
the  work  of  a  grammar  school,  as  it  shall  please  God  to  give 
opportunity  and  assistance. 

"  The  Court  considering  of  these  things,  did  grant  as  fol- 
lows :  viz.  to  the  2d,  they  did  desire  and  appoint  (naming 
three  men)  to  take  that  care  and  trust  upon  them ;  to  the 
3rd,  they  declared  that  besides  that  which  he  expressed, 
they  expected  he  should  teach  them  to  write  as  far  as  was 
necessary  to  his  work ;  to  the  4th,  they  declared  that  they 
left  it  to  those  before  mentioned ;  to  the  8th,  they  declared 
that  he  should  have  the  use  of  those  books,  provided  a  list 
of  them  be  taken ;  and  the  9th,  they  left  to  the  committee 
of  the  school ;  and  the  rest  they  granted  in  general,  except 
the  pork  and  butter ;  and  for  that  they  did  order  that  he 
should  have  one  barrel  of  pork  and  one  firkin  of  butter,  pro- 
vided by  the  Jurisdiction  Treasurer,  though  it  be  with  some 
loss  to  the  jurisdiction,  and  that  he  should  have  wheat  for 
the  other  barrel  of  pork.  This  being  done,  Mr.  Peck  seemed 
to  be  very  well  satisfied." 

But  the  school  seems  not  to  have  flourished,  for  in  1662 
"  the  committee  considering  of  the  business  left  to  them 
about  the  laying  down  or  continuing  of  the  colony  school, 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       23 

after  serious  debate  of  the  business,  did  thus  conclude,  that 
finding  not  sufficient  grounds  of  discouragement  at  present 
so  as  to  lay  it  down,  did  leave  it  to  go  on  for  further  trial, 
until  the  General  Court  should  again  meet,  desiring  that 
those  who  have  any  children  fit  to  send,  that  they  should 
send  them  to  it  for  the  encouragement  of  the  school." 

Again,  in  November  of  the  same  year,  "  It  is  propounded 
as  a  thing  left  by  the  committee  for  the  school,  whether  they 
would  continue  the  colony  school  or  lay  it  down.  The  busi- 
ness being  debated,  it  came  to  this  conclusion,  that  consider- 
ing the  distraction  of  the  time,  that  the  end  is  not  attained 
for  which  it  was  settled,  no  way  proportionable  to  the  charges 
expended,  and  that  the  colony  is  in  expectation  of  unavoid- 
able necessary  charges  to  be  expended,  did  conclude  to  lay  it 
down,  and  the  charges  to  cease  when  this  half  year  is  up  at 
the  end  of  this  month." 

It  was  proposed  that  New  Haven  pay  back  forty  of  the 
one  hundred  pounds  given  by  the  jurisdiction,  but  "the 
deputies  for  New  Haven  told  them  that  the  colony  school 
had  occasioned  a  considerable  charge  to  them  about  the 
schoolhouse  and  other  ways,  more  than  else  they  need 
have  expended  in  that  way,  and  that  they  were  ready  still, 
if  they  would  continue  the  school,  to  perform  their  condi- 
tion to  provide  schoolhouse  and  house  for  the  schoolmaster, 
if  need  require," 

After  three  years  it  was  abandoned,  and  the  town  school 
was  reestablished.  The  qualifications  of  succeeding  masters 
were  rather  meager,  and  the  Latin  teaching  was  very  inferior, 
as  may  be  inferred  from  this  entry  made  in  1663  :  "The 
deputy  Governor  informed  the  town  concerning  the  necessity 
of  having  a  schoolmaster  for  the  teaching  of  children,  and 
said  he  had  spoken  with  Mr.  Davenport  and  they  knew  no 
one  so  fit  for  it  at  present  as  George  Pardee  who  desired 
to  know  the  town's  mind.  Mr.  Pardee  did  not  feel  himself 
strong  in  his  classics.   '  He  had  lost  much  of  the  learning  he 


24  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

had  formerly  attained,  but  if  he  had  a  competent  maintenance 
allowed  him  for  his  family,  he  should  give  himself  and  time 
wholly  to  the  work  for  regaining  what  he  had  lost ;  but  if 
that  could  not  be,  he  must  take  all  opportunities  evenings 
and  mornings  in  other  ways,  for  the  supply  of  his  family.' 
To  Mr.  Pardee's  propounding  as  to  his  work  and  his  pay, 
it  was  answered  ;  his  work  was  to  teach  English  and  carry 
on  his  scholars  in  Latin  as  far  as  he  could,  to  learn  to  write 
and  something  was  said  about  arithmetic  as  very  necessary 
in  these  parts." 

In  1676  the  town  was  presented  for  not  having  a  grammar 
school.  An  attempt  was  made  in  1677  to  get  a  master  who 
could  teach  the  languages,  but  without  success,  and  a  similar 
unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  in  1681. 

The  will  of  Edward  Hopkins,  dated  1657,  left  a  part  of 
his  New  England  property  "  to  give  some  encouragement  in 
those  foreign  plantations  for  the  building  up  of  hopeful  youths 
both  at  the  grammar  school  and  college,  for  the  public  service 
of  the  country  in  future  times."  This  fund  became  available 
in  1 664 ;  Hartford  received  four  hundred  pounds.  New  Haven 
four  hundred  twelve  pounds,  and  Hadley  the  balance.  In  1684 
the  New  Haven  school  had  become  so  well  established  as  to 
have  been  put  under  the  following  rules  : 

"  Orders  of  the  committee  of  Trustees  for  the  grammar 
school  at  New  Haven,  to  be  observed  and  attended  in  the 
said  school,  agreed  upon  and  published  in  the  said  school  in 
the  year  1684. 

"  I.  The  erection  of  the  said  school  being  principally  for 
the  instruction  of  hopeful  youth  in  the  Latin  tongue,  and 
other  learned  languages,  so  far  as  to  prepare  such  youths  for 
the  college  and  public  service  of  the  country  in  church  and 
commonwealth,  the  chief  work  of  the  schoolmaster  is  to  in- 
struct all  such  youths  as  are  or  may  be  by  their  parents  or 
friends  sent  or  committed  unto  him  to  that  end,  with  all  dili- 
gence, faithfulness,  and  constancy,  out  of  any  of  the  towns 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       25 

of  this  county  of  New  Haven,  upon  his  salary  account  only, 
otherwise  gratis.  And  if  any  boys  are  sent  to  the  master  of 
the  said  school  from  any  other  part  of  the  colony  or  country, 
each  such  boy  or  youth  to  pay  10  shillings  to  the  master,  at 
or  upon  his  entrance  into  the  said  school. 

"2.  That  no  boys  be  admitted  into  the  said  school  for  the 
learning  of  English  books,  but  such  as  have  been  before  taught 
to  spell  their  letters  well  and  begin  to  read,  thereby  to  perfect 
their  right  spelling  and  reading,  or  to  learn  to  write  and  cypher, 
or  numeration  and  addition  and  no  further,  and  that  all  others 
either  too  young  and  not  instructed  in  letters  and  spelling,  and 
all  girls  be  excluded  as  improper  and  inconsistent  with  such 
a  grammar  school  as  the  law  enjoins  and  is  the  design  of  this 
settlement,  and  that  no  boys  be  admitted  from  other  towns  for 
the  learning  of  English  without  liberty  and  special  license  from 
the  committee. 

"3.  That  the  masters  and  scholars  duly  attend  the  school- 
hours,  viz.  from  6  in  the  morning  to  1 1  a  clock  in  the  fore- 
noon, and  from  i  a  clock  in  the  afternoon  to  5  a  clock  in  the 
afternoon  in  summer  and  4  in  the  winter. 

"4.  That  the  master  shall  make  a  list  or  catalogue  of  his 
scholars'  names  and  appoint  a  monitor  in  his  turn  for  one 
week  or  longer  time  as  the  master  shall  see  cause,  who  shall 
every  morning  and  noon  at  least  once  a  day  at  the  set  time, 
call  over  the  names  of  the  scholars,  and  note  down  the  late 
comers  or  absent,  and  in  fit  season  call  such  to  an  account 
that  the  faulty  and  truants  may  be  corrected  or  reproved,  as 
their  fault  shall  deserve. 

"5.  That  the  scholars  being  called  together,  the  master 
shall  every  morning  begin  his  work  with  a  short  prayer  for 
a  blessing  on  his  labors  and  their  learning. 

"  6.  That  prayer  being  ended,  the  master  shall  assign  to 
every  one  of  his  scholars  their  places  of  sitting  according  to 
their  degrees  of  learning,  and  that,  having  their  parts  or  les- 
sons appointed  them,  they  keep  their  seats  and  stir  not  out 


26      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

of  doors  without  leave  of  the  master,  and  not  above  two  at  a 
time,  and  so  successively  unless  in  cases  of  necessity. 

"7.  That  the  scholars  behave  themselves  at  all  times, 
especially  in  schooltime,  with  due  reverence  to  their  master, 
and  with  sobriety  and  quietness  among  themselves,  without 
fighting,  quarrelling  or  calling  another  or  any  other  bad  names, 
or  using  bad  words  in  cursing,  taking  the  name  of  God  in 
vain,  or  other  profane,  obscene,  or  corrupt  speeches,  which 
if  any  do,  that  the  master  forthwith  give  them  due  correc- 
tion. And  if  any  prove  incorrigible  in  such  bad  manners 
and  wicked  corrupting  language  and  speeches  notwithstand- 
ing former  warnings,  admonitions  and  corrections,  that  such 
be  expelled  the  school,  as  pernicious  and  dangerous  examples 
to  the  rest. 

"8.  That  if  any  of  the  school  boys  be  observed  to  play, 
sleep  or  behave  themselves  rudely  or  irreverently  or  be  any 
way  disorderly  at  meeting  on  the  Sabbath  days  or  any  other 
times  of  public  worships  of  God,  that  upon  information  or 
complaint  thereof  to  the  due  conviction  of  the  offender  or 
offenders,  the  master  shall  give  them  due  correction,  to  the 
degree  of  the  offense,  and  that  all  corrections  be  with 
moderation. 

"  9.  That  no  Latin  boys  be  allowed  upon  any  pretence, 
sickness  and  disability  excepted,  to  withdraw  or  absent  them- 
selves from  the  school,  without  liberty  granted  by  the  master, 
and  that  no  such  liberty  be  granted  but  upon  ticket  from  the 
parents  or  friends  and  on  grounds  sufficient  as  in  cases  of 
extraordinary  or  of  absolute  necessity. 

"10.  That  all  the  Latin  scholars  and  all  other  of  the  boys 
of  competent  age  and  capacity,  give  the  master  an  account 
of  one  passage  or  sentence  at  least,  of  the  sermons  the  fore- 
going Sabbath,  on  the  second  day  morning,  and  that  from 
I  to  3  in  the  afternoon  of  every  last  day  of  the  week,  be  im- 
proved by  the  master  in  catechising  of  his  scholars  that  are 
capable." 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       27 

Connecticut  Colony 

After  the  union  of  the  two  Connecticut  colonies  in  1665, 
the  court  of  elections  for  the  colony  of  Connecticut  took 
some  decisive  steps  toward  the  support  of  grammar  schools. 
In  1672  it  "  granted  to  the  county  towns  of  Fairfield  and 
New  London  the  sum  of  600  acres  of  land  apiece  ...  to  be 
improved  in  the  best  manner  that  may  be  for  the  benefit  of 
a  grammar  school  in  the  said  county  towns."  In  1677  towns 
neglecting  to  maintain  schools  according  to  law  were  made 
subject  to  a  yearly  fine  of  five  pounds,  ""which  said  fine  shall 
be  paid  towards  the  maintenance  of  the  Latin  school  in  their 
county."  If  county  towns  neglected  "to  keep  a  Latin  school 
according  to  order,  there  shall  be  paid  a  fine  of  10  pounds  by 
the  said  county  towns  to  the  next  town  in  their  county  that  will 
engage  to  keep  a  Latin  school  in  it,  and  so  10  pounds  annually 
till  they  shall  come  up  to  the  attendance  of  this  order." 

This  legislation  would  seem  sufficiently  clear  and  definite, 
but  it  was  evidently  not  altogether  satisfactory,  for  in  1690 
it  was  further  enacted :  '"  This  Court  considering  the  neces- 
sity and  great  advantage  of  good  literature  do  order  and 
appoint  that  there  shall  be  two  free  schools  kept  and  main- 
tained by  this  Colony  for  the  teaching  of  all  such  children 
as  shall  come  there,  after  they  can  first  read  the  Psalter,  to 
teach  such  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  the  Latin  and  Greek 
tongues,  the  one  at  Hartford,  the  other  at  New  Haven,  the 
masters  whereof  shall  be  chosen  by  the  magistrates  of  the 
said  County,  and  shall  be  inspected  and  again  displaced  by 
them  if  they  see  cause,  and  that  each  of  the  said  masters 
shall  have  annually  for  the  same  the  sum  of  60  pounds  in 
country  pay,  30  pounds  of  it  to  be  paid  out  of  the  County 
Treasury,  the  other  30  to  be  paid  in  the  school  revenue  given 
by  particular  persons  or  to  be  given  to  that  use,  so  far  as  it 
will  extend,  and  the  rest  to  be  paid  by  the  respective  towns 
of  Hartford  and  New  Haven." 


28      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

These  various  enactments  bore  fruit,  for  it  was  recorded  in 
1700:  "Four  grammar  schools  are  constantly  kept  by  the 
four  county  towns  of  this  colony  [Hartford,  New  Haven, 
New  London,  and  Fairfield]." 

In  New  London,  in  1698,  the  town  voted  a  rate  of  one 
halfpenny  "  for  the  use  of  a  free  school  that  shall  teach 
children  to  read,  write  and  cypher,  and  the  Latin  tongue." 
A  principal  was  engaged  for  eight  years.  Beyond  these 
county  towns,  grammar  schools  were  few.  Farmington,  in 
1683,  voted  to  get  "a  man  that  is  so  accomplished  as  to 
teach  children  to  read  and  write  and  teach  the  grammar," 
and  ten  years  later,  "  a  man  that  is  in  a  capacity  to  teach 
both  Latin  and  English." 

Windsor  was  presented  in  1672  and  fined  five  pounds 
"  for  not  procuring  and  maintaining  a  grammar  school,  said 
fine  to  be  paid  over  to  the  Hartford  grammar  school."  In 
1674  a  Mr.  Cornish  was  schoolmaster  at  a  salary  of  thirty- 
six  pounds.  This  would  indicate  that  there  was  a  grammar 
master,  though  such  a  school  is  not  mentioned  by  vote  until 
1698,  when  it  was  "agreed  with  Mr.  Samuel  Wolcott  to  keep 
a  reading  and  writing  and  cyphering  and  grammar  school  for 
one  full  year."    His  salary  was  thirty-five  pounds. 

The  Windsor  fine  shows  that  Hartford  had  a  grammar 
school  in  1672.  There  is  presumptive  evidence  that  her 
school  was  early  established.  The  school  taught  by  John 
Higginson  in  1639,  ^"d  by  William  Collins,  "a  young 
scholar  and  preacher  from  Barbadoes,"  in  1640,  was  with- 
out doubt  a  grammar  school.  The  first  school  record, 
December  6,  1642,  "  It  is  agreed  that  30  pounds  a  year 
shall  be  settled  upon  the  school  by  the  town,  forever,"  indi- 
cates an  existing  school ;  and  the  amount  implies  a  grammar 
school.  In  1643  Mr.  Andrews  was  master,  and  in  1648 
John  Russell,  a  Harvard  master  of  arts,  son  of  Reverend 
John  Russell  of  Wethersfield,  was  master,  both  with  salaries 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       29 

pointing  toward  schools  of  grammar  grade.  The  course  of  the 
school,  as  inferred  from  obtainable  records,  seems  erratic ;  it 
lacked  funds,  lacked  public  support,  and  probably  soon  lapsed 
into  a  common  school,  to  be  revived  as  a  county  school. 

In  1674  Mr.  Caleb  Watson  was  "encouraged"  as  master 
by  a  salaiy  of  sixty  pounds  :  "'  And  for  the  encouragement 
of  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  to  send  their  children  to  school, 
the  town  do  engage,  so  long  as  they  shall  continue  the  said 
Mr.  Watson  in  that  work,  that  the  children  of  this  town  shall 
go  free  of  charge  to  the  school."  The  town  agreed  to  raise 
thirty  pounds  of  the  salary  "  upon  the  inhabitants."  This 
agreement  held  until  annulled  by  vote  of  the  town  in  1687. 

New  Hampshire 

In  New  Hampshire  it  is  doubtful  if  a  grammar  school 
existed  except  at  Portsmouth.  In  1696  that  town  voted  "an 
able  schoolmaster  be  provided  for  the  town  as  the  law  directs, 
not  vicious  in  conversation."  This  doubtless  refers  to  a  gram- 
mar schoolmaster,  for  in  1697  the  rate  for  "  Latiners  "  was 
made  twenty-four  shillings  for  the  year,  and  future  records 
show  that  the  grammar  school  was  continued,  though  masters 
were  not  always  to  be  had  easily.  In  1 704  the  town  empowered 
the  selectmen  "  to  call  and  settle  a  grammar  school  accord- 
ing to  the  best  of  their  judgment,  and  for  the  advantage  of  the 
youth  of  our  town,  to  learn  them  from  the  primer,  to  write  and 
cypher,  and  to  learn  them  the  tongues  and  good  manners." 

Exeter  may  have  had  a  grammar  school,  for  Pormont,  the 
ex-Boston  "brother,"  was  schoolmaster  here  for  five  years. 
Bell,  in  his  "Exeter  Quarter  Millennial,"  says:  "And  there 
is  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  line  of  instructors  of  which 
he  was  the  head  was  ever  afterwards  broken.  We  know 
that  during  the  next  century  they  were,  almost  to  a  man, 
college  graduates." 


30  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Conclusions 

From  these  records  it  seems  safe  to  list  the  New  England 
grammar  schools  in  the  following  order : 

Boston,  1635-1636  Duxbury,  1677 

Charlestown,  1636  Rehoboth,  1678 

Salem,  1637  Concord,  1 680-1 690 

Dorchester,  1639  Bristol,  1682 

New  Haven,  1639  Barnstable,  1682-1685,  perhaps 

Hartford,  1639  Taunton,  1682,  perhaps;  1697 

Cambridge,  1 640-1 643  Farmington,  Conn.,  1683 

Roxbury,  1645  Wobum,  1685;  unsuccessful 

Braintree,  1 645-1 646  Lynn,  (1687),  1700 

Watertown,  1650  Springfield,  before  1690 

«•    Ipswich,  165 1  Portsmouth,  N.H,,  1696; 
Dedham,  1653  probably  earlier 

Newbury,  (1658),  1687  New  London,  Conn.,  1698 

Northampton,  1667  Marblehead,  1698,  doubtful 

Hadley,  (1667),  1681  Sandwich,  1699,  doubtful 

Hingham,  1670  Fairfield,  Conn.,  before  1700, 
Plymouth,  county,  1671 ;  town,  probably 

1699  Exeter,  N.H.,  before  1700, 
Swansea,  1673,  doubtful  probably 

Windsor,  Conn.,  (1674),  1698 

This  list  shows  that  in  two  generations  as  many  as  twenty- 
seven  grammar  schools  were  begun,  and  possibly  seven  others ; 
and  one  was  attempted  but  lacked  popular  support.  At  this 
time  there  were  eighty-one  towns  in  Massachusetts.  It  is 
unfortunate  that  the  population  of  these  towns  cannot  be 
ascertained,  to  enable  us  to  know  how  fully  they  conformed 
to  the  law.  The  1765  census  in  Massachusetts  showed 
one  hundred  eighty-four  towns,  of  which  only  eighty-one  had 
over  a  thousand  inhabitants.  From  this  it  might  be  inferred 
that  the  proportion  of  towns  having  grammar  schools  in  1 700 
was  as  large  as  it  should  have  been ;  that,  in  fact,  nearly  all 
towns  had  complied  with  the  law.  Another  view,  however, 
is  obtained  from  a  list  of  polls  given  in  by  twenty  towns  in 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       31 

Middlesex  county  (Massachusetts)  in  1708.  Nine  of  the 
twenty  showed  more  than  one  hundred  families,  but  only 
five  had  attempted  a  grammar  school,  and  but  four  had  suc- 
ceeded in  its  establishment.  The  list  of  Harvard  graduates 
from  1644  to  1700  shows  that  some  towns  credited  with 
grammar  schools  did  not  send  a  single  student  to  the  college, 
while  other  towns,  for  instance,  Salisbury,  Plymouth  in  1646, 
Dedham,  Ipswich,  and  Concord,  even  before  their  schools 
were  established,  sent  students,  evidently  prepared  by  the 
ministers  of  the  towns.  The  great  body  of  the  college  stu- 
dents came  from  the  well-established  and  continuous  schools 
at  Boston,  Cambridge,  Roxbury,  and  Charlestown.  When  all 
obtainable  light  has  been  shed  upon  the  subject  but  one  con- 
clusion can  be  reached :  the  grammar  school  was  not  a  popu- 
lar institution ;  it  was  conceived,  supported,  and  perpetuated 
by  the  few  ;  its  extension  was  slow  ;  its  course  in  most  towns 
was  erratic ;  and  yet,  considering  all  the  struggles  of  this 
period,  it  was  a  marvelous  institution,  the  bed  rock  of  future 
educational  systems. 


II 

THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL 

(1700-1800) 

The  dawn  of  the  new  century  found  the  colonies  wearied 
and  exhausted  by  their  fierce  struggles  in  the  establishment 
of  homes,  and  in  conquering  the  wilderness  and  the  savage. 
Life  and  religious  liberty  had  proved  costly.  Yet  new  settle- 
ments were  pushing  out  and  out  into  untried  sections,  and 
the  children  were  repeating  the  struggles  of  the  fathers. 
Taxation  in  every  form  was  a  burden.  The  intellectual  fiber 
of  the  English  college-bred  fathers  had  largely  disappeared, 
though  the  firmness  of  purpose  and  narrowness  of  view  still 
remained.  The  worth  of  the  grammar  school  was  not  always 
recognized,  and  though  the  old  law  remained  in  force  for  the 
whole  of  this  eighteenth  century,  and  larger  penalties  were 
added  to  assist  in  its  enforcement,  and  though  presentments 
at  court  became  frequent,  the  school  did  not  flourish  as  it 
might.  Everywhere  there  was  collision  between  the  "out- 
skirts" and  the  "center,"  resulting  finally  in  the  formation 
of  districts,  and  in  many  places  there  was  conflict  between 
the  advocates  of  the  English  schools  and  the  grammar- 
school  law. 

The  previous  section  showed  the  actual  establishment  of 
twenty-seven  grammar  schools,  and  the  possible  or  at- 
tempted establishment  of  eight  others.  Most  of  the  twenty- 
seven  schools  continued  in  growth  and  usefulness  ;  some  of 
the  eight  became  well  defined  and  distinct,  though  not  with- 
out some  difficulties. 

32 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       33 

Massachusetts 

In  1708  Middlesex  County  had,  as  before  stated,  twenty 
towns,  nine  of  which  had  more  than  one  hundred  families, 
and  hence  were  required  by  law  to  maintain  grammar  schools. 
Only  four  had  obeyed  the  law — Charlestown,  Watertown, 
Cambridge,  and  Concord.  Wobum,  whose  first  attempt  had 
been  futile,  was  the  scene  of  a  curious  struggle  during  these 
years.  In  March,  1700,  "a  committee  of  three  was  chosen 
to  inquire  for,  and  treat  with,  some  suitable  person  to  keep  a 
grammar  school  in  the  town,  and  occasionally  to  assist  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Fox  in  the  ministry ;  and  to  make  report  of  their 
doings  herein  before  they  agreed  with  the  man."  Little  had 
been  done  since  Mr.  Carter's  day ;  this  committee  did  less. 
The  town  was  presented  at  court,  and  in  May  of  the  same 
year  a  new  committee  was  appointed  ""  to  agree  with  Sir  Fox 
or  any  other  gentleman  upon  as  easy  terms  as  they  can." 
He  was  hired  for  four  months  upon  trial,  at  a  salary  of  nine 
pounds,  and  proved  so  satisfactory  that  he  was  reengaged 
for  a  whole  year  at  twenty-eight  pounds. 

The  Wobum  school  began,  then,  in  1 700.  At  the  end  of 
the  year  the  town  refused  to  renew  on  the  old  terms.  The 
new  conditions  were  "18  pounds  certain,  and  in  case  he 
should  have  more  work  in  that  place  than  he  had  last  year, 
he  should  have  forty  shillings  more."  The  school  did  not 
flourish ;  schoolmasters  were  not  easily  found.  At  one 
time  a  committee  consumed  six  weeks,  traveling  twice 
to  Boston  and  twice  to  Cambridge,  before  finding  one. 
In  1704  Mr.  Dudley  Bradstreet  was  in  Woburn  "at  the 
time  of  the  Charlestown  Court,"  acting  the  part  of  tempo- 
rary schoolmaster.  He  left  town  on  the  adjournment  of  the 
court,  having  had  his  expenses  paid  while  there  and  receiving 
"  eighteen  shillings  in  silver  for  a  gratuity." 

In  1 706  the  town  was  again  presented  at  court,  but  on  enter- 
ing the  plea  that  they  had  been  looking  for  a  schoolmaster 


34      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

but  without  success,  they  were  excused.  The  matter  dragged 
until  March,  1708,  when  the  town  ordered  the  selectmen  to 
"  provide  one  against  the  next  court,  which  is  the  ninth 
current,  if  possible."  Mr.  John  Tufts  was  engaged  to  begin 
March  8,  "he  to  stay  in  Woburn  one  month  from  the  said 
eighth  day  of  March,  and  then  come  again  when  the  town 
sends  for  him."  This  is  clearly  a  court-dodging  scheme,  but 
he  proved  so  popular  a  master  that  he  was  engaged  for  a 
full  year,  and  it  was  stipulated  that,  as  he  must  go  into  the 
various  parts  of  the  town,  the  people  must  "  find  him  a  horse 
to  ride  to  meeting  on." 

Further  evasion  is  found  in  1732,  when  an  entry  was 
made  "  to  Ebenezer  Flagg  in  full  for  keeping  the  grammar 
school  in  the  year  past,  and  standing  in  schoolmaster  two 
courts,  ;^ 1 3-10-0."  From  1758  to  1770,  however,  the 
school  had  one  master,  Mr.  John  Fowle,  noted  for  his  Latin 
and  his  discipline.  In  1760  he  petitioned  for  some  addi- 
tional allowance  "  in  consideration  of  the  fatigues  he  hath 
had  by  reason  of  so  many  removals."  The  petition  was 
denied  and  was  never  repeated. 

In  1 70 1  another  of  these  towns,  Sudbury,  chose  Mr.  Joseph 
Noyes  to  be  "a  grammar  schoolmaster  for  one  year."  His  cer- 
tificate of  approbation  from  the  ministers  reads :  "We,  the  sub- 
scribers, being  desired  by  the  town  of  Sudbury  to  write  what 
we  could  testify  concerning  the  justification  of  Mr.  Joseph 
Noyes  of  Sudbury  for  a  legal  grammar  schoolmaster,  having 
examined  the  said  Mr.  Joseph  Noyes,  we  find  that  he  hath 
been  considerably  versed  in  the  Latin  and  Greek  tongues, 
and  do  think  that  upon  his  diligent  revisal  and  recollection 
of  what  he  hath  formerly  learned,  he  may  be  qualified  to 
initiate  and  instruct  the  youth  in  the  Latin  tongue." 

He  stayed  only  two  months,  and  in  1702  the  town  voted 
"  that  a  rate  should  be  made  to  pay  the  five  pounds  the  town 
was  fined  for  want  of  a  schoolmaster."  And  later  in  the  same 
year  "it  is  agreed  and  concluded  that  the  town  doth  and  will 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       35 

grant  to  pay  unto  Mr.  Nathaniel  Picher  six  pounds  in  money 
in  course  he  doth  accept  of  the  town's  choice  as  to  be  our 
grammar  schoolmaster  "  for  one  quarter.  There  was  a  gram- 
mar school  from  this  time.  In  the  1740's  it  was  kept  "in  the 
five  remote  corners  of  the  town";  in  1781  it  was  found  again 
in  the  center  of  the  town. 

The  other  towns,  Reading,  Marlboro,  and  Billerica,  did  not 
maintain  grammar  schools,  though  Marlboro  paid  seven  pounds 
in  1702  "for  teaching  our  children  and  youth  in  reading, 
writing,  and  casting  accounts,  and  also  in  Latin,  as  occasion 
is,  and  in  doing  the  duty  of  schoolmaster  four  months." 
There  is  no  evidence  that  Latin  was  continued  in  this  town. 

In  Boston,  their  first  grammar  school  was  made  to  do  sole 
duty  for  more  tiian  two  generations.  In  March,  1711-1712, 
this  document  was  presented  at  the  town  meeting : 

"  Considerations  relating  to  a  free  grammar  school  in  the 
north  part  of  Boston. 

"  It  cannot  but  be  thought  strange  that  one  grammar 
school  should  be  thought  sufficient  for  a  town  of  above 
2000  families  when  the  law  of  the  Province  imposes  one 
upon  every  town  that  hath  above  100. 

"  Education  is  as  great  and  good  an  interest  as  can  be  pros- 
ecuted by  any  people,  and  the  more  liberally  it  is  prosecuted, 
the  more  is  done  for  the  honor  and  welfare  of  such  a  people. 
The  grammar  school  in  this  town  is  as  full  of  scholars  as  can 
well  consist  with  a  faithful  discharge  of  duty  to  them. 

"  The  north  part  of  this  town  bears  no  inconsiderable  share 
in  the  public  expense,  and  we  hope  are  not  altogether  un- 
worthy of  the  public  benefits.  It  is  known  that  when  an 
hundred  and  odd  children  have  been  found  in  the  public 
grammar  school,  not  one  of  that  hundred  nor  any  but  the 
few  odd  ones  have  been  sent  from  that  part  of  the  town. 
The  distance  hath  hindered  many  parents  from  exposing 
their  tender  children  to  the  travels  of  the  winter  and  the 
summer  hither. 


36      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

"  Some  that  cannot  be  satisfied  without  bestowing  a  good 
cultivation  on  their  children  are  at  the  charge  of  a  private 
grammar  school  in  the  neighborhood.  Others  do  send  their 
children  abroad  in  the  country.  When  the  people  of  that 
neighborhood  were  prevailed  withal  to  come  and  to  vote  for 
additional  encouragements  unto  the  present  grammar  school, 
they  were  made  to  hope  that  they  should  ere  long  be  favored 
with  another  near  unto  themselves. 

"  If  the  town  will  smile  on  this  just  and  fair  proposal,  it  is 
probable  there  will  appear  some  particular  gentleman  whose 
desire  to  serve  the  public  will  exert  itself  on  this  occasion 
and  make  liberal  advances  towards  the  providing  of  such 
necessary  preliminaries. 

"  These  considerations  are  humbly  offered  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Boston,  to  be  laid  in  the  balance  of  equity  in  the  next 
general  meeting." 

The  request  was  granted,  and  this  second  grammar  school 
was  located  on  North  Bennett  Street.  The  house  was  donated 
by  the  father  of  Governor  Hutchinson.  The  town's  action 
was  recorded  in  these  votes  : 

"  Voted  thanks  to  Capt.  Thomas  Hutchinson  for  as  much 
as  he  hath  offered  at  his  own  charge  to  build  a  schoolhouse 
at  the  north  end  of  this  town. 

'"  Voted  that  there  be  a  free  grammar  school  at  the  north 
end  of  this  town. 

"  Voted  that  a  town  committee  be  chosen  to  enquire  after  a 
piece  of  land  at  the  north  end,  suitable  to  set  a  schoolhouse 
on,  and  to  prepare  for  and  oversee  the  building  thereof. 

"  Voted  that  the  selectmen  be  desired  to  consider  of  a 
proper  person  for  a  schoolmaster  there  and  to  treat  about 
terms." 

This  is  the  only  town  that  had  two  grammar  schools.  Out- 
side of  Boston  there  was  a  constant  struggle  to  maintain  even 
a  single  one  in  each  town.  The  whole  century  is  marked  by 
indifference  to  the  law,  or  open  defiance  of  it.  More  and  more 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       37 

the  conviction  is  forced  upon  us  that  this  form  of  school 
existed  not  by  popular  will  but  by  force  of  law.  After  the 
school  kept  by  Parson  Wiswall  was  closed,  Duxbury  joined 
the  delinquents  and,  in  1709,  was  fined  "^^5  for  want  of  a 
schoolmaster."  In  1731  Pelatiah  West  was  chosen  "to  an- 
swer their  presentment  of  said  court  for  not  being  provided 
with  a  schoolmaster."  In  1737  the  town  was  again  presented 
for  not  having  a  grammar  schoolmaster.  It  is  probable  that 
a  school  was  kept  during  some  of  these  intervening  years, 
for  in  1 74 1  the  town  voted  that  the  school  should  "  go  round 
with  the  sun  as  it  has  been  kept  ever  since  the  said  town 
were  provided  with  a  grammar  school,"  and  in  1742  two  men 
were  chosen  agents  "to  go  down  to  the  eastward  "  and  see 
about  the  land  which  had  been  granted  by  the  general  court 
toward  the  support  of  the  grammar  school.  Later  this  land 
was  sold  for  £,7 so,  old  tenor. 

Braintree,  after  two  generations  of  a  grammar  school,  made 
an  agreement  with  Mr.  Benjamin  Thompson  "  for  an  abiding 
schoolmaster,  not  exceeding  ^^30  per  annum  in  or  as  money, 
during  the  time  he  perform  the  work,  until  the  present  law  re- 
ferring to  schools  be  repealed."  But  the  school  was  continued, 
for  in  1790  "  the  school  committee  reported  verbally  the  sum 
of  j^  1 50  be  appropriated  for  schooling  the  ensuing  year,  and 
that  there  be  a  grammar  school  kept  nine  months,  .  .  .  such 
a  master  to  be  agreed  with  as  will  be  willing  to  teach  English 
as  well  as  Latin,  and  also  to  teach  writing  and  cyphering." 
The  selectmen  were  ordered  to  "  agree  with  a  grammar 
schoolmaster." 

Other  grammar  schools  were  attempted  in  these  early  years, 
but  in  many  cases  there  was  great  difficulty  in  supporting 
them.  Scituate,  in  1701,  "agreed  with  Deacon  David  Jacobs 
to  keep  a  reading,  writing,  and  grammar  school  for  one 
year";  and  in  171 1  the  selectmen  were  ordered  to  provide 
"  but  one  grammar  school  and  that  to  be  kept  in  the  middle 
of  the  town  and  not  to  be  removed." 


38      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

In  1 70 1  Andover  voted  to  build  a  schoolhouse  and  di- 
rected the  selectmen  "  to  employ  a  grammar  schoolmaster 
from  year  to  year."  The  school  was  not  kept  continuously, 
for  the  town  was  indicted  in  171 3,  and  the  selectmen 
pleaded  inability  to  obtain  a  master : 

"  This  may  certify  any  to  whom  it  may  concern,  that  the 
selectmen  of  said  town  have  taken  all  the  care  and  pains 
they  could  for  to  procure  a  schoolmaster  for  our  town  for  the 
year  last  past,  but  could  not  obtain  one  ;  first,  we  agreed  with 
Mr.  Obediah  Ayers  of  Haverhill  for  half  a  year,  only  he  ex- 
pected liberty  if  he  had  a  better  call  or  offer,  which  we  thought 
would  be  only  for  the  work  of  the  ministry ;  but,  however,  he 
was  pleased  to  take  it  otherwise  and  so  left  us ;  whereupon 
we  forthwith  applied  ourselves  to  the  college  to  the  president 
for  advice,  and  he  could  tell  us  of  none,  only  advised  us  to 
the  Fellows  to  ask  them  ;  and  they  advised  to  Mr.  Rogers  of 
Ipswich,  for  they  could  tell  us  of  no  other ;  and  we  applied 
ourselves  to  him  and  got  him  to  Andover.  But  by  reason 
our  Rev.  Mr.  Barnard  could  not  diet  him,  he  would  not  stay 
with  us,  and  since  we  have  sent  to  Newbury  and  Salisbury 
and  to  Mistick  for  to  hire  one  and  cannot  get  one ;  and  we 
do  take  the  best  care  we  can  for  to  bring  our  children  to 
reading  by  schooldames,  and  we  have  no  grammar  school  in 
our  town  as  we  know  of,  and  we  are  now  taking  the  best  care 
we  can  for  to  obtain  one,  therefore  we  pray  that  we  may  be 
favored  so  far  as  may  be,  for  we  cannot  compel  gentlemen 
to  come  to  us,  and  we  do  suppose  they  are  something  afraid 
by  the  reason  we  do  lie  so  exposed  to  our  Indian  enemies. 
Pray  consider  our  great  extremity  in  that  regard  and  we  shall 
do  our  uttermost  to  answer  to  the  true  intent  of  the  law  in 
that  behalf.    So  we  rest  your  humble  petitioners." 

Some  of  these  difficulties  were  overcome  a  few  years  later, 
for  in  1720  an  agreement  was  made  with  Mr.  James  Bailey 
"to  keep  a  grammar  school  for  one  year  following  for  ;i^44  "; 
and  in  1723  another  master  was  engaged. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       39 

In  1700  Haverhill  ordered  a  grammar  school  to  be  estab- 
lished, and  appropriated  thirty  pounds  for  that  purpose,  but 
nothing  was  done.  In  1701  this  record  was  made:  "The 
question  being  moved  by  some  of  the  inhabitants  whether 
this  town  is  obliged  by  law  to  be  provided  with  a  grammar 
schoolmaster,  yea  or  no,  the  town  answers  in  the  negative 
and  therefore  do  not  proceed  to  do  it,  because  they  do  not 
find  they  have  the  one  hundred  families  or  householders 
which  the  law  mentions." 

The  next  year  their  vision  was  sharpened  by  an  indict- 
ment and  fine,  and  the  selectmen  were  ordered  to  get  a  school- 
master "with  all  the  speed  they  can,"  and  one  was  engaged 
for  thirty-four  pounds.  In  171 1  a  master  was  wanted  "to 
move  quarterly,"  but  no  one  was  found.  As  a  general  thing, 
the  grammar  schoolmasters  objected  to  the  moving  school. 
In  1751  the  town  was  again  indicted  for  lack  of  a  grammar 
school.  The  school  was  immediately  reestablished  and  was 
kept  up  thereafter  the  greater  part  of  the  time.  In  1790 
an  elaborate  series  of  rules  was  issued. 

Haverhill's  contention  against  the  grammar-school  law  be- 
cause of  the  lack  of  the  full  one  hundred  families,  was  a 
common  excuse.  When  Maiden  was  indicted  in  17 10  the 
householders'  list  was  put  in  as  evidence,  showing  ninety-six 
families  able  to  be  taxed  and  seven  too  poor  for  taxes ;  and 
the  record  shows  that  "  the  Court  do  dismiss  them  for  the 
present  as  to  a  grammar  school,  and  order  them  to  provide 
themselves  with  a  good,  able,  sufficient  schoolmaster  to  teach 
their  children  to  write  and  read,  and  make  their  report  to  the 
next  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  of  their  doing,  with  the  name 
of  the  person  so  provided.  Are  dismissed  paying  fees."  After 
several  ineffectual  town  meetings,  appointments  of  commit- 
tees, and  selections  of  men,  Mr.  Samuel  Wigglesworth,  "  who 
was  probably  the  first  public  school  teacher  in  Maiden  who  pos- 
sessed a  liberal  education,"  was  engaged  at  "  sixteen  pounds 
and  ten  shillings  in  money  "  for  six  months,  duties  to  begin 


40  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

January  i ,  1 7 1 1 .  This  was  acceptable  to  the  court.  The  town 
was  presented  again  in  171 5  and  in  17 19,  and  was  ordered 
to  "  provide  themselves  with  a  grammar  schoolmaster  by  the 
next  court";  and  in  1720  Mr.  Josiah  Marshall  "hath  been 
approved  of  by  two  of  the  neighboring  ministers  as  a  person 
suitably  qualified  for  such  an  office." 

Lancaster,  in  1715,  was  presented  for  want  of  a  school- 
master and  gave  as  an  excuse :  "  The  town  for  these  several 
months  have  endeavored  to  procure  a  schoolmaster  that  may 
benefit  the  town  and  answer  the  law,  and  have  agreed  with 
a  young  gentleman,  viz.,  Mr.  Perpont  of  Roxbury,  who  had 
now  probably  been  actually  in  said  service  but  his  indisposition 
of  body  hinders."  They  also  pleaded  an  insufficient  number 
of  families  and  "that  a  writing  school  may  answer  till  our 
number  be  increased."  The  court  allowed  them  this,  and  the 
town  was  "  dismissed  paying  fee." 

Groton  answered  an  indictment  in  1717,  by  a  petition 
from  the  selectmen  :  "  The  petition  sets  forth  that  there  are 
not  one  hundred  families  in  the  town  ;  that  the  grand  jury 
never  intended  a  grammar  school ;  that  the  town  had  been 
provided  with  a  schoolmaster  to  teach  children  to  read  and 
write  according  to  law,  and  therefore  hope  to  be  discharged 
from  presentment."  "  Ordered  and  done." 

Medfield,  in  1722,  was  presented  for  not  maintaining  a 
grammar  school,  and  the  selectmen  in  their  reply  stated  : 

"  Whereas  the  town  of  Medfield  having  been  presented  for 
some  deficiency  in  a  school  according  to  law,  we,  whose 
names  are  underwritten,  being  selectmen  of  the  said  town  of 
Medfield,  do  certify  your  honors  that  for  several  years  past, 
we  have  had  a  constant  schoolmaster  who  is  very  capable  to 
learn  to  read  and  write  &c  in  English,  and  is  very  inclinable 
for  that  work  ;  and  we  have  not  at  any  time  been  without  such  a 
school  except  it  were  a  small  space  of  time  last  July,  when  the 
schoolmaster  was  taken  ill  and  incapable  of  that  work  ;  we,  the 
selectmen,  did  quickly  seek  out  another  to  supply  that  place. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       41 

and  we  have  been  constantly  supplied  to  this  time,  till  the 
same  schoolmaster  hath  been  recovered  and  is  now  engaged 
in  that  work.  And  may  it  please  your  honors,  we  are  certain 
that  we  had  such  a  school  when  the  presentment  was  made. 
And  as  for  the  number  of  householders  or  families  in  our 
town,  referring  to  a  grammar  school,  indeed  in  former  years 
we  had  such  a  number  of  families  and  had  a  grammar  school 
some  years  before  Medway  was  taken  from  us,  and  is  a  dis- 
tinct town  ;  we  were  ready  to  conform  to  our  duty  in  the  law ; 
but  now  may  it  please  your  honors,  our  town  falleth  short  con- 
siderably of  icx)  householders  or  families,  we  having  sufficient 
knowledge  of  every  family  within  the  town  bounds,  which 
bounds  contains  no  more  than  three  miles  one  way  and  four 
miles  the  other  way ;  and  to  the  best  of  our  understandings, 
we  have  reckoned  up  all  the  families  in  the  town,  and  find 
but  ninety-four  families." 

The  court  did  not  accept  the  plea,  a  school  was  established 
the  next  year,  and  the  selectmen  reported  to  the  justices  : 

"  These  may  certify  the  honored  the  Majesty's  Justices  in 
their  session  of  the  peace  for  the  county  of  Suffolk,  at  Boston, 
March  27th,  1723,  That  the  subscribers,  being  selectmen  of 
Medfield,  have  procured  a  grammar  schoolmaster  within  our 
town,  being  one  Mr.  Jabez  Wight,  who  is  approved  by  the 
ministers  as  the  law  directs,  who  is  now  for  some  time  en- 
gaged in  that  work  in  Medfield,  but  not  to  trouble  your  honors 
with  anything  now  at  this  time  as  to  the  number  of  families 
in  our  town,  we  remain  your  Honors'  humble  servants,  with 
submission  to  your  wise  determination." 

In  1 760,  when  the  town  was  divided  into  three  districts,  it 
was  voted,  "Any  of  the  inhabitants  of  each  district  to  have  the 
liberty  to  send  any  child  to  the  grammar  school  in  the  middle 
district  to  learn  the  Latin  tongue  and  the  mathematical  arts." 

During  this  century  towns  showed  more  solicitude  in  evad- 
ing fines  than  in  founding  grammar  schools.  Worcester,  in 
1740,  voted : 


42      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

"That  the  sum  of  ;^icx)  be  granted  for  the  support  of 
schools  in  the  town  for  the  year  ensuing,  jC^o  whereof  to  be 
applied  towards  keeping  a  grammar  school  in  the  present 
schoolhouse  ;  the  other  ;^  50  to  be  divided  equally  among  the 
quarters  or  skirts  as  usual,  provided  the  body  of  the  town  keep 
a  grammar  school  the  year  and  save  the  town  from  pre- 
sentment." In  1752  a  vote  required  "the  inhabitants  of  the 
center  district,  extending  one  mile  and  a  half  around  the 
center,  to  keep  a  grammar  school  the  whole  year."  What 
the  town  appropriation  lacked  was  made  up  by  private  sub- 
scription. John  Adams,  afterwards  President,  was  the  master 
from  1755  to  1758.  He  says:  "In  the  public  exercises  of 
Commencement,  I  was  somewhat  remarked  as  a  respondent, 
and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Maccarty  of  Worcester,  who  was  empowered 
by  the  selectmen  of  that  town  to  procure  them  a  Latin  master 
for  the  grammar  school,  engaged  me  to  undertake  it.  About 
three  weeks  after  Commencement  in  1755,  when  not  twenty 
years  of  age,  a  horse  was  sent  me  from  Worcester  and  a  man 
to  attend  me.  We  made  the  journey  from  Braintree  to  Wor- 
cester, sixty  miles,  in  one  day,  and  I  entered  on  my  office. 
For  three  months  I  boarded  with  one  Green  at  the  expense 
of  the  town  and  by  the  agreement  of  the  selectmen." 

His  diary  for  1756  gives  an  illustration  of  the  dislike  Latin 
masters  had  for  the  moving  school.  He  says  :  "  Engaged  to 
keep  school  at  Bristol,  provided  Worcester  people  at  their 
ensuing  March  meeting  should  change  this  into  a  moving 
school,  not  otherwise."  The  school  was  grudgingly  main- 
tained. In  1766  the  opposition  took  the  form  of  instruc- 
tions to  the  representative  to  the  General  Court :  "  That  the 
law  for  keeping  of  Latin  grammar  schools  be  repealed  and 
that  we  be  not  obliged  to  keep  more  than  one  in  a  county 
and  that  to  be  kept  at  the  county  charge." 

In  1767  the  instructions  gained  in  vigor  and  directness: 
"  That  you  use  your  endeavors  to  relieve  the  people  of  the 
Province  from  the  great  burden  of  supporting  so  many  Latin 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       43 

grammar  schools,  whereby  they  are  prevented  from  attaining 
such  a  degree  of  EngHsh  learning  as  is  necessary  to  retain 
the  freedom  of  any  state." 

In  1769  a  committee  was  appointed  "to  treat  with  the 
proprietors  of  the  grammar  school  in  town  and  to  agree  with 
them  upon  what  terms  they  will  allow  said  school  to  be  con- 
sidered as  fhe  town  grammar  school."  An  agreement  was 
made  for  six  pounds  a  year,  '"  said  proprietors  engaging  that 
the  said  grammar  school  shall  be  free  for  all  persons  in  said 
town  desirous  of  learning  the  languages."  In  the  town  war- 
rant for  1785  was  an  article,  "to  see  what  the  town  will 
do  with  regard  to  a  presentment  for  not  keeping  a  grammar 
school,  also  to  see  what  the  town  will  do  in  regard  to  keep- 
ing a  grammar  school  for  the  future."  Only  the  second  part 
received  consideration,  on  which  it  was  voted  "that  the  select- 
men be  a  committee  to  confer  with  the  proprietors  of  the  gram- 
mar school  now  keeping  in  this  town,  to  see  if  they  can  agree 
with  them  so  the  town  may  be  exempt  from  paying  a  fine 
for  the  future." 

The  next  year  instructions  to  the  representative  were  intro- 
duced into  town  meeting  and  barely  defeated.  They  showed, 
however,  the  temper  of  the  people.  These  instructions  read  : 
"  That  you  endeavor  to  have  the  law  repealed  which  obliges 
each  town  to  keep  a  grammar  school  at  the  expense  of  the 
town,  as  we  think  it  a  burden  to  be  obliged  to  hire  and  pay 
a  grammar  master  when  the  town  at  large  receives  no 
advantage  thereby." 

In  1788  it  was  voted  "  that  the  town  treasurer  be  directed 
to  pay  the  cost  of  the  presentment  against  the  town  for  not 
keeping  a  grammar  school,  upon  the  bills  being  made  up." 
In  1799  the  school  became  a  moving  school  under  this  vote: 
"  That  the  grammar  school  in  future  be  kept  as  a  moving 
school  until  otherwise  ordered." 

The  Worcester  records  have  been  given  thus  in  extenso, 
because  they  are  typical.   The  inland  towns,  covering  large 


44      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

areas,  sparsely  settled  even  when  they  reached  the  one 
hundred  families,  could  not  afford  to  maintain  a  grammar 
school  for  the  few.  It  was  too  heavy  a  burden.  Petitions  to 
the  General  Court  for  assistance  in  the  way  of  land  grants 
were  frequent.  Groton,  in  1734,  furnishes  a  good  example: 
"  The  town  taking  into  consideration  the  obligations  they  are 
under,  by  law  of  the  Province,  to  be  constantly  provided  with 
a  grammar  school,  and  their  poverty  and  inability  to  support 
the  same,  petitioned  for  a  tract  of  land,  the  profits  and  prod- 
uce of  which  to  be  applied  and  approved  for  or  towards  the 
support  of  a  grammar  school  in  this  town."  The  town's  his- 
tory shows  a  moving  school,  an  indictment,  a  school  "  in  the 
middle  of  the  town,"  another  indictment,  and  so  on  in  this 
struggle  between  ability,  desire,  and  the  law. 

Mendon,  in  1709,  made  this  record: 

"  Whereas  a  schoolmaster  is  wanting  to  teach  the  children 
to  read,  write  and  cypher  as  the  law  directs,  and  Mr.  Rawson 
[the  minister]  offering  the  town  that  if  the  town  would  retain 
a  Latin  schoolmaster  for  four  years,  he  would  give  said  school- 
master his  board  all  the  said  time,  therefore  voted  that  the 
town  accept  the  said  offer  and  do  resolve  to  retain  a  Latin 
schoolmaster  for  said  town  for  four  years,  and  to  give  ;^20 
a  year  for  the  service." 

There  is  no  record  to  show  if  this  vote  was  carried  into 
effect.  If  carried  into  effect,  it  did  not  win  its  way  into  the 
affections  of  the  town,  for  in  1721  William  Boyce  was 
elected  schoolmaster  to  keep  a  "  reading,  and  writing  school 
during  the  year,  unless  the  town  should  be  presented  for 
want  of  a  grammar  school."  A  similar  spirit  is  found  in  a 
vote  of  1786,  "  that  the  selectmen  provide  a  grammar  school 
so  far  as  to  clear  the  town  from  any  fine."  Both  generations 
showed  greater  zeal  in  escaping  the  fine  than  in  maintaining 
the  school. 

Presentments  were  common  but  not  effective.  As  late  as 
1785  Weymouth  was  presented  for  not  having  a  grammar 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       45 

school.  Newton,  in  1762,  was  presented  "for  not  setting 
up  a  grammar  school,"  though  the  town  had  voted  the  year 
previous  "  that  the  grammar  school  be  kept  at  the  house  of 
Edward  Durant."  Amesbury,  in  17 17,  appointed  a  special 
committee  to  hire  a  grammar  schoolmaster.  Five  years  later 
the  town  was  presented  for  not  having  such  a  schoolmaster, 
and  Deacon  John  Tewksbury  went  to  Ipswich  to  answer  in 
court.  In  1757  there  was  another  presentment,  and  another 
in  1778.  Grammar  schools  were  probably  maintained  inter- 
mittently between  these  dates.  Hardwick  was  presented  in 
1747  and  not  fined;  in  1758,  and  paid  costs;  in  1767,  and 
was  fined  £8  6s.  8d.  In  1785  it  was  voted  "to  have  the 
grammar  school  kept  in  four  parts  of  the  town  so  long  as 
will  clear  the  town  of  a  fine." 

Harwich,  in  1708,  voted  "  to  establish  at  the  town's  charge 
schools  of  a  higher  order  than  heretofore  existing  here," 
and  "  Edward  Bangs  was  appointed  to  answer  to  the  pre- 
sentment of  the  town  for  past  neglect  in  this  matter." 
In  1720  it  was  voted  to  establish  a  grammar  school,  but  the 
next  year  it  was  voted  "  to  give  Mr.  Philip  Selew  ^50  to 
keep  school  this  year,  provided  he  will  pay  one  half  what 
the  town  shall  be  liable  to  pay  if  fined  for  want  of  a  gram- 
mar school."  This  would  indicate  noncompliance  with  the 
law  and  with  the  vote  of  the  previous  year,  and  also  that  the 
existing  school  was  an  English  school.  Framingham  was 
presented  in  1717,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  find  a 
schoolmaster,  but  they  reported  the  following  year  that  they 
"  had  used  the  utmost  diligence  but  could  find  no  man  to 
be  had  as  yet."  Later  another  committee  was  appointed  to 
visit  a  Mr.  Goddard  and  "  see  upon  what  terms  he  will  serve 
the  town  as  schoolmaster  for  a  year ;  and  if  he  will  serve 
as  cheap  or  something  cheaper  than  another,  then  they  are 
to  make  a  bargain  with  him  for  a  full  year."  This  policy 
resulted  in  varying  schools  and  consequent  presentments 
and  fines. 


46  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

In  Beverly,  in  1700,  "  in  conformity  with  the  law  then  in 
force,  a  grammar  school  was  established  and  Robert  Hale, 
son  of  the  minister,  was  appointed  master,  with  a  salary  of 
;^io,  and  an  additional  allowance  if  he  kept  an  English 
school.  The  next  year,  the  school  was  kept  by  Daniel  Dodge 
and  in  1704,  James  Hale,  another  son  of  the  minister,  was 
the  master,  who  taught  writing,  reading,  casting  accounts, 
Latin,  and  Greek  grammar."  In  1782  "the  grammar  school 
was  discontinued,  for  which  the  town  was  presented  to  the 
Court  of  Sessions,  when  it  was  resumed  again  and  continued 
without  further  interruptions."  Brookline,  in  1766,  voted  not 
to  have  a  grammar  school  and  then  reconsidered  it.  Lunen- 
burg, in  1732,  voted,  "If  the  committee  see  good  to  hire  a 
grammar  schoolmaster,  they  shall  have  the  liberty,  provided 
they  pay  the  overplus  charge  of  what  the  keeping  of  a  gram- 
mar school  would  be  more  than  the  charge  of  keeping  an 
English  school."  Wenham,  in  1770,  voted  that  "a  grammar 
school  be  constantly  kept  in  the  town  the  year  ensuing,  and 
that  provision  be  made  for  the  support  of  the  same." 

Wherever  these  schools  existed,  there  seems  to  have  been 
a  placating  spirit,  as  manifested  in  the  moving  school.  The 
mountain  was  moved  to  Mahomet.  Sometimes  the  school  was 
moved  around  with  the  sun.  Sometimes  it  was  located  in  the 
neighborhood  of  prominent  citizens,  sometimes  geographically, 
sometimes  in  convenient  centers.  Generally  the  amount  of 
time  for  any  locality  was  elaborately  figured  out  according  to 
the  money  paid  by  that  section,  even  to  the  fraction  of  a  day. 
Weston  records  many  items  like  these :  "  Voted  that  they 
will  not  keep  the  grammar  school  in  more  than  three  places 
in  said  town  for  the  future,"  and  "  that  the  grammar  school 
be  kept  in  the  four  quarters  of  this  town  only."  Falmouth, 
in  1763,  chose  a  committee  "  to  open  a  grammar  school  and 
procure  a  teacher,  moving  the  school  from  place  to  place  so 
as  to  give  all  parts  the  benefit."  Districts  were  formed  in 
North  Brookfield  in  1763,  but  it  was  voted  that  "any  such 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       47 

remote  taxpayer  whose  son  inclines  to  learn  the  tongues 
other  than  the  English,  may  have  liberty  at  the  middle 
school,  they  having  a  grammar  schoolmaster."  Manchester, 
in  1765,  voted  ";£50  for  a  grammar  school,  the  people  at 
Cittle  Cove  to  draw  their  proportion  of  said  jCs^  for  ^  school 
at  the  Cove,  and  to  have  no  benefit  of  the  school  in  the 
middle  of  the  town." 

Chelsea  was  set  off  from  Boston  in  1738,  and  the  second 
town  meeting  voted  "to  continue  the  grammar  school  pro- 
vided any  persons  appeared  to  make  up  the  difference  of 
charge  between  a  grammar  and  a  writing  school."  There  is 
nothing  in  the  Boston  records  to  indicate  that  Chelsea  had 
ever  had  a  grammar  school,  and  yet  this  item  says  "continue." 
The  vote  the  next  year  seems  to  show  that  some  one  paid  the 
difference,  for  it  was  then  voted  "  not  to  continue  the  gram- 
mar school ;  but  inasmuch  as  some  person  may  make  up  the 
surplus  charge  between  a  grammar  and  writing  school,  voted 
to  defer  the  consideration  of  a  school  till  next  meeting,  and 
that  the  selectmen  be  desired  to  take  any  such  subscriptions 
and  report  at  next  meeting."  At  the  next  meeting  there  was 
nothing  done  about  a  grammar  school,  and  it  is  not  mentioned 
in  the  records  again  until  1769,  when  it  was  voted  "to  have 
a  grammar  school  and  that  the  school  be  kept  by  direction  of 
the  selectmen." 

New  Hampshire 

New  Hampshire  was  the  only  New  England  state  besides 
Massachusetts  that  endeavored  to  maintain  the  grammar 
school.  When  she  passed  out  from  the  control  of  Massa- 
chusetts in  1680,  the  law  of  that  state  for  1647  was  adopted 
as  the  law  for  the  new  province,  and  under  it  two  grammar 
schools  were  probably  established  before  1700. 

Presumably  they  did  not  flourish,  for  in  1 708  the  following 
act  was  passed : 


48  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

"  That  a  Latin  school  be  kept  at  Portsmouth  in  the  said 
Province ;  and  that  the  schoolmaster  from  time  to  time  be 
appointed  by  his  Excellency,  Council,  and  settled  ministers 
of  the  town ;  and  that  the  said  schoolmaster  be  paid  by  the 
several  towns  within  this  Province,  the  sum  of  ;^50  money 
per  annum,  besides  what  the  selectmen  of  Portsmouth  shall 
order  to  be  paid  by  each  of  those  inhabitants  that  send  their 
children  to  learn  Latin ;  and  to  be  free  for  writers,  readers, 
and  Latinists ;  and  the  several  sums  to  be  paid  by  each  town 
are  as  follows,  viz. ;  Portsmouth  jQ2?>,  Hampton  ;^8,  Dover 
jQ6,  Exeter  jQ6,  and  Newcastle  £,2  ;  and  that  this  act  con- 
tinue two  years  ;  and  that  the  selectmen  in  every  town  within 
the  Province  make  assessments  on  their  inhabitants  for  each 
of  their  proportions  as  aforesaid,  to  be  collected  and  paid  unto 
the  said  schoolmaster  yearly,  by  the  first  day  of  March,  and 
if  the  selectmen  in  each  town  or  any  of  them  shall  fail  of 
making  such  assessments,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  any  two 
justices  of  the  peace  in  the  Province  to  issue  forth  a  war- 
rant or  warrants,  directed  to  the  sheriff,  to  levy  on  any  of 
the  selectmen  or  their  estates  for  any  such  sum  not  paid 
according  to  time,  to  pay  the  same  to  the  schoolmaster  from 
year  to  year." 

Later  in  the  year  the  Council  learned  that  "  notwith- 
standing the  pious  law  of  the  Gov.,  Council,  and  Assembly 
of  this  Province,  in  raising  a  free  grammar  school  for  the 
Province,  to  be  kept  in  the  town  of  Portsmouth,  being  the 
head  of  the  government,  and  there  being  good  provision  for 
the  maintenance  of  a  master,  the  Council  are  now  informed 
that  there  is  no  provision  made  by  the  town  of  Portsmouth 
for  a  schoolhouse  for  the  receipt  of  the  master  and  scholars." 

Therefore  it  was  immediately  "  ordered.  That  the  select- 
men of  the  town  of  Portsmouth  be  notified  of  their  neglect 
herein,  and  that  they  forthwith  provide  a  suitable  house  for 
the  said  school  to  be  kept,  that  the  schools  may  not  lose 
their  time,  within  three  days  next  coming,  upon  the  penalty 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL   49 

of  ;^50,  to  be  levied  upon  their  persons  and  estates  as  other 
fines,  to  be  brought  through  the  treasury  to  be  expended  in 
building  a  good  schoolhouse  for  the  future  service,  that  the 
aforesaid  good  and  religious  act  of  the  Assembly  be  not 
evaded  or  eluded." 

In  1 71 2  the  Council  sent  for  Mr.  Daniel  Ringe,  who 
"  was  discoursed  relating  to  his  taking  up  to  be  schoolmaster 
in  the  town  of  Portsmouth  to  teach  Latin,  writing  and  cypher- 
ing, .  .  .  and  the  said  Daniel  Ringe  having  acquainted  this 
Board  he  is  willing  to  settle  himself  for  four  years  a  school- 
master of  the  said  town  of  Portsmouth ;  agreeable  therefore 
to  the  said  act,  the  Council  and  minister  aforesaid  have  ap- 
pointed the  said  Daniel  Ringe  to  be  schoolmaster  of  the  said 
town  of  Portsmouth  for  four  years,  and  to  receive  jCS^  P^r 
annum,  as  mentioned  in  the  act  aforesaid." 

This  did  not  solve  the  difficulty,  for  in  171 7  this  record 
was  made  :  "  Whereas  the  selectmen  of  Portsmouth  have 
complained  to  this  house,  that  their  town  now  lies  under  a 
presentment  for  want  of  schools  in  the  town  ;  voted,  that  the 
selectmen  be  empowered  to  call  and  agree  with  two  school- 
masters for  the  town  of  Portsmouth,  the  one  for  Latin,  the 
other  for  reading  and  writing  and  cyphering,  and  settle  them 
as  may  be  most  beneficial  for  the  town  at  their  discretion." 

In  1 7 19  a  new  law  reiterated  that  "when  any  town  or 
towns  have  the  number  of  one  hundred  families  or  house- 
holders, there  shall  be  a  grammar  school  set  up,  and  kept  in 
every  such  town,  and  some  discreet  person  of  good  conversa- 
tion, well  instructed  in  the  tongues,  shall  be  procured  to  be 
master  thereof,  and  every  such  schoolmaster  to  be  suitably 
encouraged  and  paid  by  the  inhabitants." 

The  penalty  was  made  twenty  pounds  for  each  six  months 
of  neglect,  and  the  selectmen  were  authorized  to  employ  the 
schoolmasters.  In  1721,  to  focus  the  neglect  a  little  more 
sharply,  this  law  was  passed :  "  Whereas  there  is  a  law 
obliging  every  town  within  this  Province  consisting  of  one 


so  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

hundred  families,  to  be  provided  with  a  grammar  school,  and 
there  being  so  much  time  given  in  the  law  as  six  months 
before  the  penalty  of  the  law  takes  effect  from  year  to  year, 
causes  great  neglect,  which  is  much  to  the  damage  of  every 
such  town.  Voted,  that  each  town  and  parish  within  this 
Province  consisting  of  one  hundred  families  be  constantly 
provided  with  a  good  grammar  school,  and  the  selectmen  of 
each  town  for  the  time  being,  to  be  obliged  to  procure  and 
provide  said  schools,  and  in  case  of  their  neglect  for  the  space 
of  one  month  after  the  publication  hereof,  shall  forfeit  and 
pay  the  sum  of  ;^20  to  be  applied  to  defray  the  Province 
charge." 

There  was  also  in  the  law  a  clause  allowing  towns  that  felt 
themselves  unable  to  comply  with  its  terms  to  seek  relief  from 
the  Court  of  General  Sessions.  These  modifications  of  the 
Massachusetts  law  made  the  struggle  in  New  Hampshire  take 
a  somewhat  different  form,  though  the  aim  and  the  end  were 
the  same.  In  1724  this  act  was  passed:  "Whereas  it  is 
found  by  experience  that  there  is  great  inconveniency  attend- 
ing several  towns  in  this  Province,  who  are  obliged  to  support 
a  grammar  school  by  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  which  in- 
duces a  very  great  and  unnecessary  expense  upon  the  said 
towns,  without  the  least  advantage  thereby ;  — 

"Therefore,  in  Council  September  26,  1724,  voted,  that 
the  said  act  respecting  grammar  schools  be  repealed  and  that 
there  be  one  established  free  school  to  be  supported  at  the 
Province  charge  at  Portsmouth,  and  that  the  town  of  Ports- 
mouth pay  one  quarter  part  of  the  charges,  and  that  the  other 
towns  pay  in  proportion  to  their  Province  tax,  and  that  a 
committee  of  both  houses  be  appointed  to  obtain  and  agree 
with  a  suitable  person  to  settle  as  schoolmaster  and  that  a 
bill  be  prepared  accordingly." 

There  was  generally  a  good  school  spirit  in  the  various 
towns,  but  limitations  of  locations  and  other  circumstances 
often  rendered  a  central  grammar  school  of  little  service  to 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       51 

many  of  the  people.  There  were  many  requests  for  relief 
made  to  the  Court  of  General  Sessions.  Two  petitions,  two 
generations  apart,  will  sufficiently  show  the  arguments  used. 
The  first  was  presented  in  1722  : 

"  The  humble  petition  of  the  representatives  for  the  town- 
ship of  Dover  in  behalf  of  said  town,  humbly  showeth  : 

"  That  whereas  the  said  town  is  one  of  the  most  exposed 
towns  in  this  Province,  to  the  insults  of  the  Indian  enemy, 
and  also  whereas  by  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  this 
Province,  the  said  town  of  Dover  (amongst  others)  is  obliged 
by  said  act  to  keep  and  maintain  a  grammar  school,  and 
whereas  the  circumstances  and  situation  or  settlements  of 
the  inhabitants  of  said  town  lying  and  being  in  such  manner 
as  it  is,  the  houses  being  so  scattered  over  the  whole  town- 
ship that  in  no  one  place  six  houses  are  within  call,  by  which 
inconveniency  the  inhabitants  of  said  town  can  have  no  bene- 
fit of  such  grammar  school,  for  at  the  times  fit  for  children  to 
go  and  come  from  school,  is  generally  the  chief  time  of  the 
Indians  doing  mischief,  so  the  inhabitants  are  afraid  to  send 
their  children  to  school,  and  the  children  dare  not  venture,  so 
that  the  salary  to  said  schoolmaster  is  wholly  lost  to  said  town. 

"  So  that  your  petitioners  at  the  request  and  in  behalf  of 
said  town  humbly  pray  your  honorable  and  general  Assembly 
that  there  may  be  an  act  of  this  General  Assembly  passed, 
that  the  said  town  of  Dover  may  be  exempted  from  keeping 
a  grammar  school  during  the  war  with  the  Indians,  as  formerly 
they  were.    So  pray  your  humble  petitioners." 

The  following  action  was  taken  :  "  The  Dover  petition  was 
read  and  concurred  with,  provided  they  keep  a  school  for 
writing  and  arithmetic." 

The  other  petition  was  from  the  town  of  Wilton  in  1788  : 

"  The  petition  of  us,  the  subscribers,  humbly  showeth ; 
That  a  law  of  this  state,  entitled  an  act  for  the  settlement 
and  support  of  grammar  schools,  obliges  every  town  of  the 
state,  consisting  of  one  hundred  families,  to  maintain  yearly 


52      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

a  grammar  school,  and  for  every  month's  neglect,  imposing 
a  fine  of  ;^io.  That  the  town  of  Wilton,  several  years  last 
past,  has  made  peculiar  provision  for  the  instruction  of  its 
youth.  It  has  employed  from  the  seat  of  the  muses  several 
well  accomplished  young  gentlemen,  and  some  aged  experi- 
enced gentlemen  of  literary  accomplishment,  for  the  space 
of  twenty  years  last  past,  and  it  has  expended  for  a  number 
of  years  upon  schooling  £?>7y  and  sometimes  it  has  assessed 
more,  at  least  a  sum  sufficient  to  support  her  two  grammar 
schools  annually.  Apprehending  the  end  of  law,  in  general, 
to  be  the  interest  and  happiness  of  its  subjects,  and  the  end 
of  the  school  laws,  in  particular,  to  be  the  good  education  of 
youth,  we  presumed  a  compliance  with  the  spirit  of  this  law 
would  atone  for  a  small  deviation  from  the  letter,  especially 
as  this  deviation  has  facilitated  the  progress  of  our  youth  and 
gratified  the  wishes  of  their  parents  and  guardians. 

"  The  town  of  Wilton  with  this  view  of  the  matter,  and 
from  the  view  of  its  local  situation,  —  mountainous  land,  long 
winters,  deep  snows,  inhabitants  scattered,  town  divided  by 
a  rapid  stream  rendering  a  passage  to  its  center  at  some 
seasons  of  the  year  inconvenient  and  impracticable,  —  from 
a  view  of 'public  expenses,  the  scarcity  of  specie,  the  inability 
of  the  people  to  provide  necessary  schooling  in  the  extreme 
parts,  while  obliged  to  support  a  grammar  school  in  the  cen- 
ter, our  annual  expense  for  the  support  of  a  number  of  bridges 
over  rapid  streams,  building  a  convenient  and  decent  house 
for  public  worship,  the  charge  of  which  is  not  entirely  settled, 
the  importance  of  the  labor  of  our  youth  and  of  their  being 
instructed  in  agriculture  and  the  manual  arts  ;  voted,  to  raise 
sufficient  money  to  support  two  grammar  schools,  to  divide 
the  town  into  as  many  districts  as  was  convenient,  and  to 
appoint  committees  in  each  district  to  see  that  the  money 
was  faithfully  improved  in  the  instruction  of  their  youth. 
This  method  of  education  we  have  found  by  many  years' 
experience  very  beneficial.    The  state  of  learning  of  Wilton 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       S3 

sufficiently  evinces  the  expediency  of  it.  Notwithstanding, 
one  month  preceding  the  General  Session  of  the  peace  in  the 
county  of  Hillsboro,  in  September  last  past,  being  destitute 
of  a  grammar  school,  the  Grand  Jury  found  a  bill  against  the 
selectmen  and  they  were  accordingly  cited  to  appear.  Though 
the  sessions  were  convinced  we  had  adopted  a  more  advan- 
tageous method  of  education  than  we  should  have  practised 
had  we  adhered  to  the  letter  of  the  law,  yet  the  penalty  of 
that  law  being  absolute,  they  could  not  acquit  us  or  lessen  the 
fine.  We  therefore  pray  your  honorables  for  leave  to  bring 
in  a  bill  acquitting  us  from  mulct  imposed  upon  us  by  the 
general  sessions.  Apprehending  from  experience  that  the 
method  of  education  we  have  adopted  might  be  beneficial 
to  many  towns,  we  beg  leave  to  suggest,  without  presuming 
to  dictate,  and  with  humble  deference  to  your  honors'  authority 
and  distinguished  abilities,  the  possibilities  of  advantage  to 
the  public  by  a  revisal  of  the  aforesaid  law,  and  as  in  duty 
bound  will  ever  pray." 

This  petition  was  supported  by  two  certificates,  one  from 
Mr.  Josiah  Burge,  a  teacher,  and  the  other  from  Mr.  Abel 
Fisk,  the  minister.    Mr.  Burge  said  : 

"  I  am  happy  to  certify  that  the  youth  of  Wilton  are  in 
general  very  good  readers,  writers  and  cypherers.  They  are 
further  advanced  in  learning  than  those  of  most  towns  in  the 
county,  within  the  compass  of  my  knowledge,  who  have  main- 
tained grammar  schools,  and  inferior  to  none  with  which  I 
am  acquainted.  I  believe  I  might  safely  affirm  that  there  is 
no  other  town  in  the  state,  of  the  same  ability,  that  can 
produce  so  many  youth  so  well  qualified  for  common  busi- 
ness, so  well  accomplished  in  all  the  branches  of  learning 
which  are  essentially  useful,  in  every  department  of  life,  as 
can  the  town  of  Wilton." 

Mr.  Fisk  made  this  statement : 

"  Having  made  it  my  annual  practise  to  call  the  youth 
together  in  different  parts  of  the  town,  to  advise  and  instruct 


54  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

them,  I  have  taken  occasion  to  examine  them  in  respect  to 
the  improvement  they  have  made  in  reading  and  have  been 
highly  pleased  with  the  accuracy  and  propriety  exhibited  in 
that  branch  of  literature. 

"  I  have  likewise  been  present  at  school  when  the  children 
have  been  examined  respecting  the  names  and  uses  of  those 
stops  and  characters  that  are  made  use  of  in  the  English 
language,  and  they  have  answered  the  questions  proposed  to 
admiration.  I  have  seen  their  writing,  etc.  and  it  appears  to 
me,  from  the  observations  I  have  made,  that  the  people  of 
Wilton  have  paid  particular  attention  to  the  school  education 
of  their  children." 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  consider  this  petition,  and 
in  a  few  days  they  reported  :  "  That  although  the  town  of 
Wilton  have  not  strictly  adhered  to  the  letter  of  the  law,  yet 
it  appears  to  your  committee  they  have  been  at  great  expense 
for  the  education  of  their  youth,  and  that  it  is  the  opinion 
of  the  committee  that  the  fine  be  remitted  and  that  they 
have  leave  to  bring  a  bill  accordingly." 

This  report  was  accepted,  and  the  town  received  relief. 

In  1727  the  Assembly  passed  this  act :  "  Concerning  the 
infancy  of  the  town  of  Londonderry,  provided  they  keep  two 
schools  for  writing  and  reading  in  said  town,  that  they  be 
exempted  from  the  penalties  in  the  laws  of  this  Province  re- 
lating to  grammar  schools  for  one  year  now  next  ensuing, 
and  to  commence  from  their  annual  meeting  in  March  next, 
and  all  courts  that  have  authority  in  that  affair  are  to  take 
notice  of  this  order  and  conform  according  to  it."  This 
exemption  was  afterwards  extended  to  two  years.  Seven 
years  later  the  town  voted :  "  There  shall  be  three  schools, 
one  of  which  shall  be  a  grammar  school,  the  others  English 
schools,  the  grammar  master  to  go  from  one  school  to  an- 
other." In  1739  the  town  gave  the  Reverend  Matthew 
Clark  a  special  salary  "  on  condition  of  his  keeping  the  town 
from  employing  any  other  grammar  schoolmaster." 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       55 

The  towns  generally  avoided  supporting  a  grammar  school 
as  long  as  they  could,  and  often  preferred  to  pay  the  fine. 
Hollis,  in  1 768,  voted  that  if  it  was  complained  of  it  would 
pay  the  fine,  and  it  passed  a  similar  vote  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary War.  New  Boston,  in  1788,  voted  "to  hire  a 
grammar  schoolmaster  for  a  year  as  cheap  as  they  can,  and 
the  said  schoolmaster  shall  pass  an  examination."  New 
Ipswich  tried  for  a  number  of  years  to  avoid  the  expense  of 
such  a  school,  and  annually  voted  "  to  indemnify  the  select- 
men if  they  should  be  fined  for  not  providing  one."  Finally, 
in  1 77 1,  it  was  voted  to  have  a  school  during  nine  months  of 
the  year,  but  at  the  same  time  they  voted  "  to  hold  the  select- 
men harmless  if  they  did  not  have  one."  Chester,  in  1751, 
voted  "  to  defend  and  secure  the  selectmen  from  any  damage 
they  may  come  at  for  not  providing  a  grammar  school." 
Five  years  later  this  article  appeared  in  the  town  warrant : 
"  To  see  what  the  town  will  do  concerning  hiring  a  grammar 
schoolmaster  for  the  year  1756,  it  being  an  express  from  the 
Court  by  the  Grand  Juryman  to  the  selectmen."  It  was  voted 
"that  the  present  selectmen  shall  take  care  and,  if  they  can, 
provide  a  grammar  schoolmaster  for  the  town  so  as  to  fulfil 
and  answer  the  intents  of  the  law,  and  if  they  cannot  obtain 
one,  then  they  are  fully  impowered  to  address  the  court  in 
behalf  of  and  in  favor  of  the  town,  on  that  account  and  at  the 
charge  of  said  town."  The  second  aFticle  for  the  meeting  in 
1 760  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  selectmen  were  in 
danger  of  presentment  for  not  providing  the  school,  and 
asked  the  town  to  secure  them  from  the  threatened  fine. 
This  the  town  refused  to  do.  In  1771  they  were  fined  ten 
pounds  and  costs. 

Weare  began  a  school  in  1772,  but  it  was  not  long  con- 
tinued, being  dropped  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  In 
1784  the  town  voted  not  to  have  a  grammar  school,  and  also 
agreed  to  pay  all  costs  and  fines  if  the  selectmen  were  indicted. 
Three  years  later  they  were  presented  and  given  the  usual 


56      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

fine.  The  town  immediately  voted  "'  to  pay  all  the  costs  and 
save  the  selectmen  harmless."  But  the  selectmen  petitioned 
the  court  for  a  remission  of  the  fine  :  "  We,  your  petitioners, 
humbly  showeth  that  the  selectmen  of  Weare  have  been  pre- 
sented to  the  Court  of  General  Sessions  of  the  peace  in  said 
county  for  not  keeping  a  grammar  school,  by  which  means 
we  are  liable  to  pay  a  fine  of  ;i^io  for  one  month  neglect. 
The  town  considering  their  scattered  situation  as  well  as  their 
inability  concluded  it  would  be  more  to  the  advantage  of  said 
town  to  hire  several  masters  that  could  teach  good  English 
and  at  such  seasons  as  they  could  reap  most  advantage  from 
said  schools,  was  the  reason  there  was  not  a  grammar  school 
hired  as  the  law  directs.  No  man  in  said  town  required  it. 
Therefore,  we,  your  petitioners,  humbly  request  you  would 
release  and  remit  said  fine.    Your  petitioners  shall  ever  pray." 

This  petition  was  granted,  and  the  town  escaped  at  a  cost 
of  nine  shillings,  the  expense  of  a  messenger  to  take  the 
petition  to  the  court. 

New  Hampshire  was  rather  more  lenient  and  human  in 
the  enforcement  of  the  law  than  Massachusetts.  She  recog- 
nized that  local  conditions  often  rendered  it  inoperative,  and 
she  preferred  to  have  good  English  schools  reaching  all  the 
children,  rather  than  one  school  reaching  only  the  few.  The 
growth  into  the  district  school  in  this  state  was  an  easy  tran- 
sition from  the  letter  of  the  law  to  its  practical  adaptation  to 
different  localities. 

Connecticut 

In  Connecticut,  besides  the  four  county  grammar  schools 
and  the  two  at  Windsor  and  Farmington,  none  seem  to  have 
been  established.  The  law  of  1 700  ordered  English  schools 
for  all  the  year  in  towns  of  seventy  families,  and  for  half  the 
year  where  there  were  less.  The  laws  of  171 2  and  I7I7> 
placing  the  schools  in  the  care  of  the  parishes,  diminished  still 
further  the  probability  of  increasing  the  grammar  schools. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL       57 

The  law  of  1776,  allowing  towns  and  parishes  to  divide  into 
districts,  to  make  their  own  regulations,  and  to  draw  their  own 
school  money,  fastened  the  district-school  system  upon  this 
state  earlier  than  upon  any  other  in  New  England.  The 
grammar-school  idea  did  not  flourish  here.  It  was  like  wheat 
falling  upon  stony  ground  ;  it  had  no  root  and  withered  away. 
The  grammar  school  was  not  mentioned  in  the  town  records 
after  the  earliest  settlements. 

Conclusions 

In  Massachusetts  the  law  of  1647  ordered  that  any  town 
of  one  hundred  families  should  establish  a  grammar  school, 
and  imposed  a  penalty  of  five  pounds  for  nonperformance  of 
this  legal  duty.  This  penalty  was  afterwards  increased  to  ten 
pounds,  and  still  later  to  twenty  pounds,  if  the  town  had  two 
hundred  families,  while  a  town  of  five  hundred  families  was 
required  to  maintain  two  grammar  schools  and  two  writing 
schools.  This  continued  in  force  until  the  law  of  1789 
lessened  the  burden.  Meantime  the  term  "  grammar  school  " 
had  practically  disappeared  from  use,  the  district-school  growth 
had  taken  away  the  central  authority,  the  old  form  of  school  had 
become  forgotten,  and  there  was  fastened  upon  this  state  the 
district-school  system,  which  required  fifty  years  of  strenuous 
effort  to  dislodge.  The  grammar  school  had  practically  disap- 
peared from  New  England  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century. 


Ill 

THE  MOVING  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS 

The  moving  school  has  been  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
section,  but  it  needs  more  extended  treatment  to  show  its 
frequency  and  its  connection  with  the  future  district-school 
movement.  In  the  desire  to  make  the  grammar  school  more 
effective  and  possibly  more  popular,  it  was  not  kept,  as  at 
Boston,  in  the  center  of  the  town  all  the  time.  In  many 
places  town  conflicts  were  frequent  between  the  ardent  ad- 
vocates of  a  central  grammar  school  and  those  who  wished 
and  believed  that  it  should  be  made  as  far-reaching  as  pos- 
sible. One  can  imagine  from  the  votes  what  a  flood  of  town- 
meeting  oratory  must  have  flowed  forth  on  the  question, 
though  only  the  resulting  action  is  recorded.  The  struggle 
in  Worcester  was  typical. 

In  1 73 1  it  was  voted  "that  the  town  will  maintain  a  free 
school  for  the  year  ensuing  and  that  it  be  a  moving  school 
into  the  several  quarters  of  the  town."  The  next  year  this 
moving  school  was  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  selectmen. 
In  1735  "Mr.  Richard  Rogers,  our  present  schoolmaster, 
having  this  day  fulfilled  his  last  year,  it  is  agreed  that  the 
said  Mr.  Richard  Rogers  forthwith  repair  to  the  house  of 
Mr.  Palmer  Golding  and  there  keep  the  school  till  further 
orders."  It  was  kept  a  moving  school  until  1752  when  it 
became  stationary  until  1759;  this  included  the  time  that 
John  Adams  was  master.  In  1759  it  was  voted  "that  the 
school  be  a  moving  school  the  present  year  and  to  be  kept 
in  the  same  way  and  manner  that  the  school  used  to  be 
kept  in  before  March,  1752."  It  changed  frequently  from 
one  form  to  the  other  until  finally,  in  1799,  it  was  voted 

58 


MOVING  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS     59 

"  that  the  grammar  school  in  the  future  be  kept  as  a  moving 
school  until  otherwise  ordered  by  the  town,  to  be  kept  three 
months  in  each  district  beginning  with  the  center  district 
and  then  to  the  other  districts  in  rotation  as  the  selectmen 
shall  direct  until  it  shall  have  gone  through  the  town."  It 
was  kept  a  moving  school  until  1808.  The  conflict  had  been 
carried  on  for  more  than  two  generations. 

The  records  of  other  towns  show  that  the  moving  school 
was  very  common.  At  Andover,  in  1720,  a  schoolmaster 
was  engaged  to  keep  school  in  each  precinct.  Three  years 
later  one  was  engaged  to  keep  in  each  precinct  "  according 
to  each  precinct's  pay."  There  is  this  record  of  1729: 
"  Philemon  Robbins  came  first  to  keep  a  school  in  Andover 
and  began  his  school  in  the  south  end  of  the  town  and  con- 
tinued there  three  months,  and  then  went  behind  the  pond 
in  the  first  day  of  December  and  continued  there  until  the 
last  of  January,  and  then  was  sent  and  continued  in  the 
middle  of  the  town  into  the  last  of  February  next,  and  then 
was  sent  behind  the  pond  in  the  third  day  of  March,  and  to 
continue  there  fourteen  nights,  and  then  the  i6th  of  March 
was  returned  to  the  middle  of  the  town  and  continued  there 
nine  weeks." 

At  Plymouth,  in  1696,  it  was  "ordered  by  the  town  that 
the  upper  society  should  have  the  schoolmaster  the  next 
quarter."  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  moving  school  in 
that  town.  In  1722  the  action  was  more  comprehensive, 
when  it  was  voted  "  that  the  grammar  school  in  this  town 
be  a  movable  school." 

Beverly,  in  1752,  referring  to  the  east  part  of  the  town, 
voted  "  that  the  grammar  school  should  be  kept  in  that  part 
of  the  town  in  proportion  to  what  they  paid  towards  taxes." 

Weston,  Massachusetts,  in  1755,  voted  "  that  they  will  not 
keep  the  grammar  school  in  more  than  three  places  in  said 
town  for  the  future."  In  1764  there  was  a  petition  that  the 
grammar  school  be  "  kept  in  the  four  quarters  of  this  town 


6o  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

only."  It  is  related  of  the  school  in  Concord,  Massachusetts, 
that  it  was  kept  in  the  house  where  the  master  boarded,  and 
"  when  he  changed  his  quarters,  the  school  moved  with  him." 

Duxbury,  in  1741,  voted  "  that  their  school  should  be  kept 
in  course  as  to  the  quarterly  placing  of  it,  to  go  round  with 
the  sun  as  it  has  been  kept  ever  since  the  said  town  were 
provided  with  a  grammar  school,  till  two  full  years  were 
completed  and  expired,  and  then  to  begin  in  that  part  of 
the  town  that  they  ordered  it  should  first  be  kept,  when  the 
said  town  divided  themselves  into  four  parts  concerning 
their  school."  Later  in  the  same  year  they  voted  "  that  the 
said  town  should  continue  to  stand  divided  into  four  parts 
or  quarters  ...  for  the  term  of  twenty  years  next  ensuing." 
They  also  voted  "  that  the  said  school  shall  be  a  free  school 
for  the  whole  town,  for  any  of  the  said  inhabitants  to  send 
their  children  into  any  of  the  above  mentioned  quarters 
where  the  school  may  be  kept." 

In  Falmouth,  in  1763,  a  committee  was  chosen  "to  open 
a  grammar  school  and  procure  a  teacher,  moving  the  school 
from  place  to  place  so  as  to  give  all  parts  the  benefit." 
Wenham,  as  late  as  1770,  voted  to  establish  a  grammar 
school  and  chose  a  committee  "'  to  provide  a  schoolmaster 
and  to  apportion  said  school  according  to  the  tax  in  this 
town."  Londonderry,  New  Hampshire,  in  1730,  voted  "that 
a  schoolhouse  be  built  in  each  quarter  of  the  town,  the 
schoolmaster  to  hold  schools  in  them  according  to  the  money 
raised  in  each."  Previous  to  this  they  had  voted  that  "  the 
public  school  shall  be  kept  at  the  meetinghouse  five  months 
from  date,  the  other  six  months  in  the  out  parts  of  the  town 
where  convenient."  In  1737  they  voted,  "There  shall  be 
three  schools,  one  of  which  shall  be  a  grammar  school,  the 
others  English  schools,  the  grammar  master  to  go  from  one 
school  to  another." 

This  latter  vote  represents  the  concession  usually  made  to 
those  who  believed  that  the  legal  grammar  school  did  not 


MOVING  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS     6i 

fill  the  educational  needs  of  the  times.  Such  concessions  be- 
came common  throughout  the  colonies.  Hingham,  in  1732, 
established  two  schools,  one  a  grammar  school,  the  other  a 
writing  school ;  the  first  was  stationary,  the  other  was  "  to 
be  kept  seven  months  within  the  said  year  in  the  school- 
house  in  the  east  precinct  and  four  months  in  the  south 
parish."  In  1781  a  committee  recommended  "one  school 
to  be  kept  in  the  center  of  the  north  parish  the  year  through, 
the  west  end  of  the  north  parish  to  have  six  months  school- 
ing and  the  Plain  to  have  six  months  schooling ;  the  south 
parish  to  have  a  school  the  year  through,  and  to  be  shifted 
so  as  to  accommodate  the  parish,  with  liberty  for  the  in- 
habitants to  send  their  children  to  either  of  the  schools  as 
shall  best  accommodate  them." 

At  Braintree,  in  17 16,  besides  the  grammar  school  there 
was  voted  a  reading  and  writing  school  at  the  south  end  for 
"  one  half  of  the  year,  each  year,  yearly."  At  North  Brook- 
field,  in  1765,  districts  were  formed  according  to  their  pro- 
portion of  the  school  money,  "  but  any  such  remote  tax-payer 
whose  son  inclines  to  learn  the  tongues  other  than  the 
English  may  have  liberty  at  the  middle  school,  they  hav- 
ing a  grammar  schoolmaster."  Medfield,  in  1760,  voted  "to 
divide  the  school  into  three  districts  for  the  term  of  twenty 
years  ;  any  of  the  inhabitants  of  each  district  to  have  liberty 
to  send  any  child  to  the  grammar  school  in  the  middle  dis- 
trict to  learn  the  Latin  tongue  and  the  mathematical  arts." 
At  Newbury,  in  1736,  the  first  and  third  parishes  both  peti- 
tioned the  General  Court  "  to  have  liberty  to  raise  money  in 
order  to  keep  a  grammar  school  for  themselves  and  be  freed 
from  paying  to  any  other  school."  This  was  granted  by 
the  court. 

Sudbury,  in  1701,  chose  two  masters  who  were  to  "teach 
children  to  read  and  write  and  cast  accounts."  They  were 
paid  thirty  shillings  each  for  the  year.  These  schools  were 
in  addition  to  the  grammar  school.    In  1781  the  grammar 


62      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

school  was  kept  in  a  house  near  the  meetinghouse,  but  the 
town  also  granted  "  for  the  support  of  a  reading  and  writing 
school  forty-eight  pounds,  and  ordered  the  same  to  be  kept 
in  the  other  four  schoolhouses  in  the  same  proportion." 
Springfield,  in  1791,  divided  the  town  into  nine  districts, 
and  in  addition  an  English  school  was  established  in  the 
center  "to  accommodate  such  scholars  as  the  selectmen 
thought  not  admissible  to  the  grammar  school." 

Northampton,  in  1749,  dissatisfied  with  the  school  con- 
ditions, appointed  a  committee  of  three  '"  to  consider  with 
respect  to  the  better  regulation  of  our  school,  to  project 
some  way  that  our  school  for  the  future  may  be  more  ad- 
vantageous and  profitable  for  the  education  of  our  children." 
The  committee  reported  "that  the  town  erect  a  new  school- 
house  near  Elisha  Pomeroy's  trading  shop,  that  shall  be 
warm  and  convenient  for  writers,  grammar  scholars  and 
arithmeticians,  as  it's  likely  they  may  be  in  town  to  be  in- 
structed, and  that  there  be  for  the  future  two  schoolmasters 
maintained  in  town  in  the  winter  season,  in  the  middle  of 
the  town,  viz.,  —  one  to  which  grammar  scholars  and  arith- 
meticians and  writers  shall  be  sent,  the  other  to  which  the 
readers  or  English  scholars  shall  be  sent ;  and  in  the  summer 
season,  there  be  but  one  school  maintained,  viz., — the  gram- 
mar school,  to  which  scholars  of  all  sorts  shall  be  sent  until 
the  season  grows  cold,  and  that  then  there  be  two  again  as 
aforesaid ;  and  that  for  the  future  any  provision  for  schools 
in  the  remote  parts  of  the  town  be  omitted." 

There  had  been  district  schools  for  several  years,  but  this 
report,  which  was  accepted,  removed  them  all.  "  When  the 
people  in  the  outskirts  began  to  realize  the  true  position 
in  which  they  had  been  placed,  by  this  decision,  that  they 
must  either  do  without  schools  or  send  their  children  to  the 
center  of  the  town,  they  rallied  and  at  the  following  March 
meeting  the  former  vote  was  reconsidered  and  rescinded." 
They  then  voted  to  appoint  "  some  meet  person  to  assist  the 


MOVING  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS     63 

grammar  schoolmaster  in  teaching  the  writers  and  English 
readers,  and  that  English  schoolmasters  shall  be  provided 
for  the  second  precinct  and  the  Farms,  and  that  the  school 
money  already  granted  to  the  second  precinct  be  used  for  the 
paying  for  the  schooling  of  the  youths  of  said  precinct." 

In  the  Weston  town  warrant  for  1767  was  this  article: 
"  To  know  the  minds  of  the  town  whether  they  will  provide 
four  writing  schools  or  more,  two  months  or  more,  in  the  four 
quarters  of  the  town  in  the  winter  season,  the  year  ensuing 
from  this  time."  The  record  quaintly  says,  "  Passed  in  the 
negative."  The  next  year  there  were  two  petitions,  one  ask- 
ing for  three  schools  in  the  winter  season,  to  be  kept  four 
months  each,  one  each  in  the  center  and  in  the  north  and 
south  sections;  the  other  "to  provide  a  grammar  school- 
master for  one  year  ensuing,  to  be  settled  and  supported 
according  to  law,  and  also  to  provide  two  other  suitable  per- 
sons qualified  to  instruct  the  youth  in  reading,  writing  and 
ciphering."    The  latter  was  granted. 

Plymouth,  in  17 16,  voted  that  "three  free  schools  be  set 
up  and  erected  in  the  town,  one  at  each  end  to  teach  and 
instruct  in  reading  and  writing,  and  one  to  be  kept  in  the 
middle  of  the  town  to  be  a  grammar  school,  .  .  .  and  the  said 
schools  shall  be  for  the  term  of  five  years." 

Many  votes  creating  the  moving  school  do  not  specify 
whether  the  school  was  a  grammar  or  a  writing  school ;  they 
all  indicate  a  wish  to  have  the  schools  reach  the  pupils. 
Without  previous  experience  to  guide  them  many  towns,  in 
being  strictly  just  to  all  parts,  made  very  curious  divisions  of 
the  time ;  and  while  each  section  received  its  full  allotment 
of  this  time,  the  individual  children  had  short  school  terms 
and  very  long  vacations.  Sometimes  the  division  was  left  to 
the  selectmen  and  sometimes  to  a  committee. 

At  Harwich,  in  1709,  the  selectmen  were  directed  "  to  settle 
the  schoolmaster  as  to  his  several  removes  and  settlements 
in  the  town  for  the  present  year."    In  17 19  they  voted  "to 


64      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

divide  the  town  into  societies,  each  to  have  the  benefit  of  the 
school  its  part  of  the  time,  and  no  society  shall  break  in  upon 
it  for  the  time  being."  In  1725  a  large  committee  was  ap- 
pointed "  to  settle  the  school  and  proportion  the  six  removes, 
both  as  to  the  number  of  families  and  children  belonging  to 
each  remove,  till  the  school  hath  gone  once  around  the  town." 
The  various  removes  were  arranged  as  follows  : 

First  remove,  1 6  families,  29  children,  school  6  months  i  week 
Second  remove,  25  families,  55  children,  school  8  months  3  weeks 
Third  remove,  22  families,  56  children,  school  8  months  3  weeks 
Fourth  remove,  25  families,  47  children,  school  8  months  i  week 
Fifth  remove,  14  families,  32  children,  school  4  months 
Sixth  remove,  26  families,  35  children,  school  6  months  i  week 

"  The  school  shall  begin  at  the  westernmost  part  of  the  town 
first,  and  so  remove  eastward."  By  this  arrangement  each 
district  had  the  school  once  every  three  and  a  half  years. 

Barnstable,  in  1732,  appointed  a  committee  "to  regulate 
the  schools  for  the  time  to  come."  They  reported  '"  that  when 
the  two  precincts  have  had  equal  time  in  the  town's  school- 
master, they  shall  cast  lots  to  determine  in  which  part  the 
school  shall  be  first  kept,  and  so  by  turn  for  four  years  ;  and 
that  in  the  east  precinct  it  shall  be  each  year  first  near  the 
meetinghouse  42  weeks,  and  near  Thomas  Hadaway's  10 
weeks  ;  in  the  west  precinct  near  John  Rowland's  33  weeks, 
and  then  by  Benjamin  Goodspeed's  14  weeks,  and  then  by 
James  Lovell's  4  weeks  and  4  days."  Ten  years  later  a 
scheme  was  voted  whereby  the  schools  were  arranged  for 
four  years  and  five  months,  and  this  time  was  divided  among 
eight  places  at  from  two  to  ten  months  each. 

In  1734  Gloucester  had  seven  districts,  and  it  took  three 
years  for  the  school  to  make  the  circuit :  "  Each  district  was 
to  provide  a  convenient  schoolhouse,  and  in  case  of  neglect 
to  do  so  was  to  lose  its  turn  for  three  years."  In  1745  Nor- 
wich had  seven  schools,  varying  in  time  from  one  month 
sixteen  days  to  five  and  a  half  months  in  a  place ;  it  took 


MOVING  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS     65 

twenty-one  months  to  go  around.  The  same  year  Middletown 
voted  for  the  school  "  to  keep  one  half  the  time  in  the  east 
schoolhouse  and  the  other  half  of  the  time  in  the  west  school- 
house,  and  to  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  said  committee  when 
to  alter  from  one  house  to  the  other." 

Brunswick,  in  1742,  referring  to  the  schoolmaster,  author- 
ized a  committee  "  to  appoint  him  the  time  and  places  for 
keeping  the  school  in  the  several  parts  of  the  town,  as  they 
shall  think  proper."  Amesbury,  in  1741,  appointed  a  com- 
mittee of  three  to  hire  a  schoolmaster  and  direct  "  the  time 
and  place  where  the  school  shall  be  kept  at  the  west  end  of 
the  town  "  ;  a  similar  committee  was  appointed  for  the  east 
end.  In  1753  it  was  voted  "  that  the  schools  might  be  kept 
in  each  parish  where  the  inhabitants  directed."  In  1796  there 
were  two  masters,  and  the  school  money  was  apportioned 
among  the  districts. 

Other  towns  took  the  more  rational  method  of  dividing  the 
school  year  equitably  among  the  different  sections,  but  here 
again  absolute  integrity  produced  curious  time  divisions.  Per- 
haps the  most  curious  is  found  in  a  report  of  the  selectmen 
of  Harvard  in  1725  : 

"  Reckoned  with  Mr.  Edward  Broughton  for  his  service 
for  keeping  school  and  find  he  hath  kept  school  on  the  Neck 
150  days,  and  at  Still  River  75  days,  and  he  hath  received  of 
the  town  treasurer  ;^27-is."  That  same  year  the  school  time 
was  divided  as  follows  :  "  Stephen's  Hill  104  295/850  days, 
Bare  Hill  82  745/850  days,  on  the  Neck  177  660/850  days." 
There  was  but  one  schoolmaster  and  he  went  to  these  sections 
in  turn. 

A  division  almost  as  curious  is  found  in  a  Marlboro  record 
for  1745.  The  time  was  divided  by  a  committee:  "West 
end  six  weeks  three  days  and  2/3  ;  northwest,  two  weeks 
four  days  ;  easterly,  sixteen  weeks  one  day  and  i  /3I ;  northerly, 
seven  weeks  no  days  and  2/3  ;  east,  five  weeks  four  days  and 
2/3  ;  west,  thirteen  weeks  four  days  and  3/4." 


66  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

There  was  no  uniformity  among  towns  or,  in  fact,  in  the 
votes  of  any  one  town,  as  to  how  these  divisions  should  be 
made.  The  tendency  in  New  England  to  do  all  town  busi- 
ness in  open  town  meeting  where  every  freeman  might  have 
his  voice  and  his  vote  was  very  strong.  Power  was  delegated 
very  sparingly  and  cautiously.  Committees  were  not  gener- 
ally formed  for  school  purposes,  but  whenever  towns  did 
not  directly  control  school  affairs  they  were  transferred  to 
the  power  of  the  selectmen.  The  records  show  that  most 
of  the  towns  directed  the  moving  school  by  popular  vote. 
The  following  show  how  different  towns  clung  to  this  during 
successive  years. 

Maiden,  in  1702,  voted  the  school  "to  be  kept  at  four 
several  places  at  four  several  times,  one  quarter  of  a  year  in 
a  place."  In  171 1  a  school  was  arranged  for  six  months, 
"  the  first  four  months  at  Mr.  Parson's  house  and  then  the 
school  shall  be  removed  into  some  house  towards  the  north 
end  of  the  town,  the  other  two  months." 

Amesbury,  in  171 1,  voted  "  that  the  school  should  be  kept 
the  first  four  months  at  the  meetinghouse,  the  next  four 
months  at  the  Pond's  Hill  fort,  and  the  last  four  months 
at  Left.  Foot's  fort  or  thereabouts." 

At  Sandwich,  in  171 3,  the  schoolmaster  was  to  make 
"  three  removes  each  year ;  teaching  in  the  center  four 
months,  in  Scusset  four,  and  in  Spring  Hill  four,  each 
year."  As  late  as  1769  it  was  voted  "  that  the  schoolmaster 
shall  go  through  the  town  as  heretofore  with  his  school,  once 
a  year."  Framingham,  in  17 14,  voted  "that  the  school  be 
kept  the  present  winter  season  in  five  places  in  town,"  and 
the  next  year  they  voted  "  that  the  school  be  kept  nine  weeks 
on  the  south  side  of  the  river  and  eight  weeks  on  the  north 
side."  The  next  year  they  had  another  vote  "  to  have  a 
moving  school  kept  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  town,  four 
weeks  at  each  place."  The  system  of  moving  schools  was  un- 
broken in  this  town  until  1750.    In  1724  the  selectmen  were 


MOVING  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS     67 

instructed  to  treat  with  a  schoolmaster  if  he  would  accept  their 
custom  "  to  remove  into  the  several  quarters  of  the  town," 

Boxford,  in  17 16,  engaged  a  master  to  teach  "  in  the  six 
parts  of  the  town."  For  some  years  the  school  was  kept  in 
private  houses,  and  any  one  section  had  the  school  only  one 
month  in  the  year.  Leicester  voted  its  first  school  in  1731  ; 
this  was  for  only  three  months,  in  three  different  places,  one 
month  in  a  place.  Bedford,  in  1733,  voted  "to  settle  a  mov- 
ing school,"  and  in  1742  "the  school  moved  into  the  four 
quarters  of  the  town."  Lunenburg,  in  1737,  voted  that  the 
school  "  be  moved  to  four  places  " ;  the  time  at  each  place  to 
be  "  proportioned  according  to  the  number  of  scholars."  Two 
years  later  they  engaged  a  "lawful  schoolmaster"  for  three 
months,  six  weeks  in  one  house  and  six  weeks  in  another. 
North  Brookfield,  in  1739,  voted  "to  have  two  schoolmasters 
for  four  months  in  the  winter  season,  to  be  moved  into  the 
several  parts  of  the  town."  Greenfield,  in  1767,  had  seven 
districts  and  but  one  schoolmaster,  "  and  he  to  move  to  each 
district  according  to  the  proportion." 

Hanover  had  the  usual  moving  schools,  and  in  1 784  located 
them  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  town  ;  they  also  voted  "  that 
one  quarter  shall  not  send  their  children  into  another  school." 
Colchester,  Connecticut,  in  171 7,  voted  "  to  maintain  a  school 
the  whole  year,  and  that  it  be  kept  at  three  several  places ; 
each  several  place  where  the  school  is  kept  shall  have  the 
school  kept  there  so  long  as  their  proportion  of  estates  is 
in  the  common  list." 

At  Columbia,  Connecticut,  in  1739,  the  Congregational 
parish  voted  "  to  keep  a  school  of  two  schoolmasters  for  the 
winter  months  for  writing  and  reading,  and  to  be  removed 
from  place  to  place  for  the  best  advantage  of  the  parish  in 
general." 

In  a  good  many  instances  the  selectmen  are  clothed  with 
discretionary  power.  In  Medfield,  in  17 18,  the  school  was 
"to  be  kept  in  three  parts  of  the  town,  some  time  at  one 


68  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

part  and  some  time  at  another  as  the  selectmen  shall  order 
it."  Previous  to  this  the  school  had  been  kept  in  the  center 
for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  town;  in  1733  the  time  was 
divided,  two  thirds  for  the  center,  and  one  third  for  the  north 
and  south  ends.  At  Sutton,  in  1731,  the  school  was  "to  be 
kept  at  the  discretion  of  the  selectmen  in  four  places  in  said 
town,  one  month  in  a  place."  Manchester,  Massachusetts,  in 
1738,  voted  a  tax  for  a  free  school  which  was  "  to  be  removed 
to  the  four  quarters  of  the  town,"  but  the  time  and  place  were 
left  to  the  discretion  of  the  selectmen.  Chester,  New  Hamp- 
shire, in  1737,  voted  "that  the  selectmen  shall  remove  the 
said  schoolmaster  to  the  several  parts  of  the  town  as  shall  be 
convenient."  Windsor,  Connecticut,  in  1698,  voted  "  the 
school  is  to  be  kept  at  the  several  places  agreed  on  by 
the  selectmen." 

In  171 7  Billerica  empowered  the  selectmen  "to  order 
and  appoint  in  what  parts  of  the  town  the  school  shall  be 
kept  and  how  long  at  a  place."  The  next  year  the  master 
was  again  employed,  provided  he  would  move  into  the  sev- 
eral parts  of  the  town.  This  was  a  common  vote  and  voiced 
another  difficulty  in  the  maintenance  of  these  schools,  as 
many  of  the  college  graduates,  like  John  Adams,  refused  to 
accept  a  moving  school. 

Haverhill,  in  1 7 1 1 ,  ordered  the  selectmen  to  hire  a  school- 
master "  to  move  quarterly  to  such  places  as  the  selectmen 
agree  to,  as  shall  be  most  convenient  for  the  inhabitants  of 
the  town."  No  one  could  be  found  who  would  move,  but 
some  years  later  there  was  a  schoolmaster  who  was  willing 
"to  move  for  the  town's  benefit  to  the  several  parts  of  the 
town."  Bristol,  in  1699,  wanted  two  districts  and  asked  the 
schoolmaster  "  to  condescend  to  be  and  abide  with  Mr.  Allen 
or  thereabouts  "  one  third  of  the  year,  and  the  remainder  of 
the  year  in  town,  but  he  refused. 

Salaries  were  frequently  affected  by  the  kind  of  school, 
whether  it  were  moving  or  stationary.    In  1737  a  Braintree 


MOVING  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS     69 

schoolmaster  "  agreed  to  teach  the  school  the  full  year  of 
twelve  months  for  jCs6  if  he  moved  four  months  in  the  year 
in  any  part  of  the  precinct  from  the  schoolhouse,  and  if  not, 
then  he  is  to  have  but  ;^50."  At  Wobum,  in  1706,  the 
schoolmaster  agreed  '"  also  when  he  went  into  the  different 
quarters  of  the  town  to  keep  school,  the  inhabitants  of  each 
quarter  should  find  him  a  horse  to  ride  to  meeting  on."  As 
late  as  1760  the  master  petitioned  for  an  extra  allowance 
"  in  consideration  of  the  fatigue  he  hath  had  by  reason  of 
there  being  so  many  removes."  This  petition  was  denied  and 
was  never  renewed. 
^  The  grammar  school,  whether  stationary  or  moving,  did 
not  supply  educational  opportunities  for  all  pupils  ;  many 
lived  at  too  great  distances  to  attend ;  many  parents  had 
strong  convictions  that  the  English,  or  writing,  schools  sup- 
plied the  real  needs  better.  Hence  school  matters  occasioned 
as  stormy  scenes  in  the  ancient  town  meeting  as  they  ever 
have  in  the  modem.  These  conflicts  went  on  from  gener- 
ation to  generation. 

The  following  account  from  the  Plymouth  records  is  a  good 
illustration  : 

In  1 7 14  a  committee  was  appointed  "with  reference  to 
the  promoting  of  a  school  for  learning  of  children  at  each  end 
of  the  town."  In  17 16  three  schools  were  established,  the 
one  in  the  center  a  grammar  school,  the  others  at  the  ends 
"  to  teach  and  instruct  in  reading  and  writing."  But,  like 
Banquo's  ghost,  the  matter  would  not  down,  for  a  very  strenu- 
ous meeting  was  held  in  1725,  of  which  this  report  exists: 
"  At  said  meeting,  there  was  a  long  debate  about  a  school  or 
schools,  and  after  some  time  there  was  a  vote  called  whether 
they  would  have  three  schools  and  there  being  a  great  as- 
sembly, it  was  something  difficult  to  distinguish  the  vote  by 
holding  up  the  hand,  and  it  was  thereupon  ordered  by  the 
moderator  that  the  assembly  should  withdraw  out  of  the  house 
and  then  to  come  in  and  pass  by  the  clerk  and  declare  whether 


yo  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

they  were  for  one  or  three  schools,  and  it  was  votea  by  a  ma- 
jority of  votes  that  there  should  be  one  school,  and  there  being 
a  great  tumult  in  the  meeting  and  the  people  difficult  to  be 
settled,  the  moderator  therefore  adjourned  the  present  meeting 
to  the  first  day  of  March  next."  At  this  adjourned  meeting 
a  compromise  was  effected  ;  a  grammar  school  was  established 
in  the  middle  of  the  town,  and  it  was  "  also  at  the  same  time 
voted  that  each  end  of  the  town  which  for  some  years  past  had 
a  woman's  school  among  them,  be  allowed  to  deduct  out  of 
the  town's  treasury  what  they  are  annually  voted  or  taxed  for 
the  grammar  school,  and  no  more,  towards  the  maintaining  a 
school  among  themselves."  As  a  result  of  this  vote  one  part 
of  the  town  applied  to  be  incorporated  into  a  separate  town. 
This  was  granted,  and  the  town  of  Kingston  was  formed.  The 
records  are  full  of  the  differences  between  the  various  parts 
of  the  town  over  the  schools.  The  matter  came  up  every  year, 
and  finally  a  committee  was  appointed  in  1736  which  made  a 
full  report.  "'  The  report  of  the  committee  about  the  schools 
was  read  in  the  town  meeting  and  accepted.  Voted  that  the 
grammar  school  be  fixed  in  the  middle  of  the  town  where  it 
now  is,  and  the  ends  of  the  town,  namely  Ele  River,  Monu- 
ment Ponds,  and  Agawam,  draw  all  their  part  of  the  money 
they  pay  by  rate  or  tax  towards  the  support  of  schools  among 
themselves,  and  for  no  other  use,  and  there  be  two  or  three 
suitable  persons  chosen  in  each  part  of  the  town  to  take  care 
to  supply  themselves  with  suitable  schools,  and  to  draw  their 
part  of  the  money  yearly  and  every  year  during  the  term  of 
seven  years,  provided  they  keep  schooling  among  themselves 
sufficient  to  draw  the  money." 

It  is  easy  to  see  how  out  of  conflicts  of  this  kind  the 
district  system  was  eventually  evolved.  Votes  in  many  towns 
show  that  those  living  out  of  the  center  were  not  afraid  to 
voice  their  dissent  to  paying  taxes  and  receiving  no  returns. 
When  Newbury,  in  1653,  voted  to  establish  a  school  in  the 
center  of  the  town  at  the  meetinghouse,  seventeen  men 


MOVING  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS     /I 

"  desired  to  have  their  dissents  recorded,"  as  all  of  them 
resided  so  far  from  the  meetinghouse  "that  their  children 
could  not  conveniently  attend  the  school."  In  Springfield, 
in  1706,  two  men  had  their  dissents  recorded. 

For  several  years  Springfield  struggled  to  satisfy  the  desires 
of  the  people  living  in  the  outer  parts  of  the  town.  In  1702 
Longmeadow  made  an  appeal  to  the  mother  town  for  certain 
changes  ;  among  other  arguments  advanced  was  this  :  "  And 
also  our  children  are  thereby  deprived  of  the  benefits  of  in- 
struction by  the  schoolmaster  in  the  town."  Two  years  later 
"  the  committee  for  the  precinct  on  the  west  side  of  the  great 
river  in  behalf  of  their  precinct  did  petition  that  the  town 
would  either  erect  and  establish  a  school  on  their  side  of  the 
great  river,  or  else  acquit  them  of  paying  any  rate  for  the 
town's  school  on  the  east  side  of  the  great  river."  The  next 
year  "  it  was  ordered  to  pay  out  of  the  town's  treasury  an 
addition  of  sixteen  pounds,  to  encourage  the  inhabitants  on 
the  west  side  of  the  great  river  and  of  the  Longmeadow,  to 
promote  the  learning  of  their  children  for  the  present  year ; 
and  the  selectmen  are  to  see  to  the  disposing  of  said  sum 
according  to  their  best  discretion." 

Again  the  next  year  "  the  inhabitants  on  the  west  side 
of  the  river  presented  a  petition  to  the  town  that  they  would 
allow  them  support  for  encouragement  of  their  schools :  — 
and  it  was  voted  that  if  they  keep  a  school,  to  continue  the 
vote  of  1705."  After  this  year  money  was  generally  voted 
to  the  different  districts  as  they  were  formed.  Later,  in  the 
same  year,  it  was  "  proposed  to  nominate  some  men  to  answer 
the  petition  of  the  inhabitants  on  the  west  side  of  the  river 
at  the  present  General  Court,  respecting  a  school  for  them ; 
and  it  was  disliked.  ...  And  it  was  agreed  and  voted  that 
the  said  west  side  inhabitants  have  liberty  to  get  a  school- 
master to  teach  their  children  to  read  and  write,  and  that  the 
charge  be  carried  on  by  the  town  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
school  affair  is  carried  on  on  the  east  side  of  the  great  river, 


72      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

according  as  the  law  directs ;  and  the  like  vote  was  passed 
for  the  inhabitants  of  the  Longmeadow." 

Again  in  1708  "it  was  voted  at  this  meeting  and  con- 
cluded to  ratify  the  vote  of  the  town  at  the  meeting  May  30, 
1708,  respecting  the  school  affair  on  the  west  side  of  the 
great  river,  and  further  that  the  selectmen  of  this  town  of 
Springfield  be  empowered  to  provide  them,  the  said  west 
side  inhabitants,  a  meet  person  to  teach  their  children  to 
read  and  to  write,  and  that  the  inhabitants  of  said  west  side 
of  the  great  river  have  liberty  to  add  from  among  them- 
selves some  one  man  to  join  with  the  said  selectmen  to  carry 
the  affair,  that  the  children  of  said  west  side  inhabitants  may 
be  taught  to  read  and  to  write,  and  that  what  the  scholars' 
part  to  pay  falls  short  of  satisfying  the  charge,  it  be  paid  as 
other  town  charges  are  paid." 

In  1709  "  it  was  also  voted  to  allow  Capt.  Thomas  Colton 
30  shillings  to  encourage  or  to  enable  him  to  provide  school- 
ing for  Longmeadow  for  this  winter,  which  allowance  if  it 
occasion  strife  or  disturbance  amongst  his  neighbors  at  Long- 
meadow, he  promises  to  forgive  the  said  town's  allowance  of 
30  shillings."  Finally  in  17 16  the  town  was  divided  into  six 
precincts,  and  these  votes  were  passed:  "  It  was  further  voted 
that  each  of  the  places  above  mentioned  shall  be  allowed  pre- 
cincts respecting  of  schools.  It  was  further  voted  that  they 
should  be  continued  precincts  for  three  years.  Voted  that 
every  precinct  shall  pay  to  their  own  school.  Voted  that  that 
precinct  which  doth  neglect  keeping  a  school,  that  money 
which  is  raised  upon  them  for  the  supporting  of  the  schools, 
shall  return  to  the  town  treasury." 

At  the  annual  town  meeting  for  171 2,  in  Haverhill,  several 
persons  applied  "  for  an  abatement  of  their  taxes  for  the  min- 
istry and  the  school,"  basing  their  claim  on  the  fact  that  they 
lived  at  a  great  distance  from  town  and  had  much  difficulty 
in  getting  in.  The  town  voted  "  to  abate  one  half  of  their 
ministry  tax."   The  same  year  petitions  were  received  from 


MOVING  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS     73 

two  parts  of  the  town,  praying  for  a  school  "one  quarter  of 
the  year,  .  .  .  that  they  might  have  the  benefit  of  having  their 
children  brought  up  to  learning  as  well  as  the  children  of  those 
that  live  in  the  center  of  the  town."    This  was  granted. 

At  Guilford,  Connecticut,  in  17 17,  a  school  was  established 
in  that  part  called  the  Neck,  In  the  petition  for  it  the  signers 
state  that  they  have  paid  for  the  maintenance  of  a  school  and 
"  by  reason  of  their  remoteness  from  the  town  schoolhouse 
have  had  but  very  little  or  no  benefit  by  said  school,  and  be- 
ing by  Divine  Goodness  blessed  with  a  considerable  number 
of  children  "  they  ask  for  a  school  of  their  own. 

In  1738  one  of  the  districts  of  Hampton  prayed  "that 
the  petitioners  be  exoratcd  from  paying  to  the  support  of  a 
school  at  the  old  town  of  Hampton  no  longer  than  they  sup- 
port a  writing  and  reading  schoolmaster  among  themselves," 

A  common  form  of  petition  from  residents  of  outlying  dis- 
tricts is  this  from  Swanzey  in  1775  :  "We,  the  subscribers, 
living  very  remote  from  any  district  where  we  might  be  con- 
venient to  a  school  for  our  children,  do  humbly  petition  that 
the  town  would  vote  us  off  as  a  district  and  grant  that  the 
money  which  we  pay  towards  maintaining  a  school  in  this 
town  may  be  laid  out  for  schooling  in  the  said  district  as 
near  the  center  as  may  be  convenient.  ,  ,  ,  Voted  the  above 
request  be  complied  with  during  the  town's  pleasure." 

The  want  of  coherency  in  these  early  school  conditions  is 
seen  fully  as  well  in  their  nomenclature  as  in  their  method,  or 
lack  of  method,  of  control.  While  we  look  back  on  the  schools 
located  in  separate  parts  of  the  town  as  district  schools, 
and  while  much  is  said  about  the  old  district  system,  the 
term  as  a  final  term  grew  out  of  a  long  series  of  votes  in 
towns  covering  a  wide  area.  There  was  no  common  term  by 
which  the  parts  of  a  town  were  designated.  It  ran  through 
a  whole  gamut  of  expressions,  among  which  "  squadron  " 
was  very  common.  One  town  historian  has  said  that  the  use 
of  this  term  came  after  the  Revolution,  and  probably  was 


74      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

derived  from  the  military  term,  but  the  word  was  used  in 
this  sense  long  before  the  Revolution.  It  is  a  curious  use 
of  the  word,  and  it  is  found  in  the  old  records  both  as  a 
noun  and  as  a  verb. 

Yarmouth,  as  early  as  1693,  voted  that  the  school  should 
be  kept  "in  five  squadrons."  At  Bridgewater,  in  1675, 
"  squadron  was  used  in  reference  to  building  a  fortification 
around  the  meetinghouse,  each  portion  was  to  build  one  side, 
or  end."  Worcester,  in  1777,  voting  on  highways,  used  this: 
"  That  the  assessors  squadron  out  to  each  surveyor  the  per- 
sons that  shall  work  under  them."  Hubbardston,  in  1771, 
appointed  a  committee  "  to  squadron  out  the  school  places"; 
and  ten  years  later  there  was  another  committee  "to  squadron 
out  the  town  for  schooling." 

Worcester,  in  1740,  voted  a  sum  of  money  "to  be  equally 
divided  among  the  quarters  or  skirts  as  usual,"  and  as  late 
as  1795  a  committee  was  appointed  "to  district  the  town  into 
school  squadrons."  Middletown,  in  1 754,  voted  "that  the  town 
be  divided  into  two  squadrons,  one  house  in  each  squadron." 
Fitzwilliam,  in  1779,  chose  a  committee  of  five  "to  provide 
schools  in  each  squadron."  Temple,  New  Hampshire,  in 
1775,  chose  a  committee  "to  squadron  out  the  town  for 
building  schoolhouses  ;  voted  to  divide  the  town  into  five 
squadrons."  In  1792  district  number  three  voted  "that  the 
committee  acquaint  Mr.  Sile  Stickney  that  the  squadron  desires 
him  not  to  send  any  of  his  children  to  their  school  the  ensuing 
winter  on  account  of  the  small-pox."  In  1 762  Marlboro  passed 
a  vote  in  which  the  word  was  spelled  "  squadrants." 

Groton  used  the  word  "angles"  for  a  good  many  years, 
but  later  on  the  selectmen  were  appointed  a  committee 
"  to  regulate  the  several  squadrons  on  the  outside."  About 
1790  the  word  "district"  appears  in  their  votes  instead  of 
"  angles  "  or  "  squadrons."  In  many  towns  the  votes  take 
the  form  of  "in  the  several  parts  of  the  town,"  or  "in  the 
four  quarters  of  the  town." 


MOVING  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS     75 

Some  records  show  odd  terms  used ;  as  Cambridge,  in 
1737,  voted  "that  ;^I2  be  paid  each  wing  in  our  town  to 
defray  the  charge  of  their  schools  in  the  winter  season." 
Bridgewater,  in  1747,  voted  to  divide  the  precinct  into  three 
school  "  ricks."  The  same  expression  was  used  in  1784,  and 
in  1795  it  was  spelled  "wricks."  Easton,  in  1746,  used  the 
same  term  when  they  had  "  four  quarters  and  a  central  school 
rick."  Manchester,  New  Hampshire,  in  1788,  voted  "that 
the  town  be  classed  in  three  classes."  Francestown,  the  next 
year,  voted  "  every  class  may  draw  the  proportionable  part 
of  the  money  that  is  raised  by  the  town  for  the  use  of  the 
school.  Voted  that  the  town  shall  class  themselves  within  one 
fortnight."  To  avoid  negligence  a  committee  was  appointed 
"to  class  them  "  if  necessary.  Peterborough,  in  1789,  voted 
"  the  diocese  should  not  send  to  any  but  their  own,  and  that 
the  said  schools  should  be  under  the  direction  of  the  select- 
men." In  1790  they  voted  "to  have  but  four  dioceses." 
This  is  a  common  word  in  the  votes  of  this  town.  In  Oxford, 
in  1775,  the  divisions  which  had  been  called  "squadrons" 
were  then  called  "wards."  Framingham,  in  1749,  divided 
the  town  into  "center  and  eight  outskirts."  Exeter,  New 
Hampshire,  in  1742,  voted  "  to  hire  a  standing  school  in 
the  town  for  the  year  ensuing,  and  that  the  several  branches 
of  the  town  have  their  share  of  the  money  allowed  to  them 
in  proportion  to  what  they  pay." 

A  variety  of  this  school  phraseology  is  seen  in  a  succession 
of  votes  in  Amherst,  New  Hampshire.  In  1762  it  was  voted 
"  to  keep  a  school  this  year  in  five  divisions,  the  selectmen 
to  divide."  In  1771  it  was  voted  that  the  inhabitants  "  keep 
as  many  schools  as  they  think  fit,  and  each  family  that  does 
keep  a  school  shall  be  entitled  to  draw  their  proportion  of  the 
money  above  granted."  The  town  had  appropriated  twenty 
pounds.  In  1779  they  voted  "that  the  town  be  divided  into 
squadrons  at  the  discretion  of  the  selectmen,  that  the  inhabit- 
ants may  be  the  better  accommodated  with  a  school,  and  that 


76      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

each  squadron  have  their  part  of  the  money  that  shall  be 
raised  for  schooling  provided  they  lay  it  out  for  that  purpose." 
It  was  also  voted  that  '"  the  schools  be  kept  by  each  neigh- 
borhood classing  together."  In  1787  they  voted  "that  if  any 
district  should  not  school  out  their  money  within  one  year 
from  the  time  it  was  granted,  it  should  be  paid  into  the  town 
treasury  for  the  use  of  the  town." 

"  Society,"  "  precinct,"  "  division,"  "parish,"  were  all  used 
in  this  attempt  to  define  school  limits.  During  all  this  time 
"district"  was  also  commonly  used;  it  became  finally  the 
accepted  word,  was  incorporated  into  the  law,  and  "district" 
it  has  remained  ever  since. 

The  division  lines  were  often  indefinite  ;  the  center  of  reck- 
oning was  usually  the  "  school  in  the  middle  of  the  town  " 
with  a  radius  of  from  one  to  two  miles.  Lunenburg,  in  1 740, 
had  one  schoolhouse,  but  "  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  said 
town  that  lives  above  two  miles  distant,  to  be  estimated  as 
the  roads  go,"  were  to  draw  their  part  of  the  school  money, 
though  all  might  send  to  this  school  if  they  so  pleased. 
Swanzey,  New  Hampshire,  voted  that  persons  living  more 
than  two  miles  away  from  school  places  might  "  draw  the 
money  which  they  pay  to  the  school  rate  this  year,  to  lay  out 
as  they  think  proper  with  the  approbation  of  the  selectmen." 
This  was  in  1773,  and  the  next  year  the  town  was  divided 
into  six  districts,  "  but  the  school  in  each  district  shall  be  free 
for  any  persons  in  the  town  to  send  their  children  to  at  any 
time."  Marlboro,  in  1745,  voted  "that  all  families  that  live 
more  than  a  mil'e  and  a  half  from  either  of  the  two  school- 
houses  where  the  school  has  been  kept  the  past  year  shall 
draw  their  proportion  of  money  out  of  the  school  rate." 

Groton,  in  1741,  voted  that  the  school  should  be  kept  in 
five  places,  six  weeks  in  a  place.  In  1745  a  committee  ap- 
pointed to  consider  school  matters  reported  as  follows  :  "  The 
committee  appointed  to  consider  where  the  school  shall  be 
kept  for  the  year  ensuing  have  met  and  taken  the  affair 


MOVING  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS     7/ 

under  consideration  and  find  it  not  possible  to  settle  it  so  that 
every  one  may  reap  an  equal  benefit ;  but  humbly  offer  the 
opinion  that  it  may  be  most  for  the  advantage  of  the  town 
that  the  school  may  be  kept  for  the  year  ensuing  in  the  middle 
of  the  town,  and  that  all  such  as  live  more  than  two  miles  or 
thereabouts  shall  be  so  far  eased  as  to  embody  amongst  them- 
selves, and  upon  their  employing  either  a  master  or  school 
dame,  shall  draw  the  whole  of  what  they  pay  to  the  school  rate 
in  said  town."  Three  years  later  the  grammar  school  was 
kept  in  four  places,  but  people  living  more  than  two  miles 
from  the  school  could  do  as  they  did  in  1745.  In  1758  they 
appropriated  "'  twenty  pounds  for  reading  and  writing  schools 
in  the  several  angles  of  the  town,"  and  a  committee  desig- 
nated the  places  and  apportioned  the  money.  Twenty  years 
later  they  voted  "  that  the  children  be  numbered  through 
the  town,  males  unmarried  from  four  years  old  to  twenty-one, 
females  unmarried  from  four  years  old  to  eighteen,  and  the 
whole  of  the  money  raised  this  year  for  the  schools  to  be 
equally  divided  upon  the  polls.  A  circle  one  mile  and  a  half 
distance  from  the  schoolhouse  in  the  middle  of  the  town  to 
be  reckoned  as  the  middle  squadron,  and  the  selectmen  to  be 
a  committee  to  proportion  the  school  money." 

Worcester,  in  1760,  voted  "  that  the  schools  be  kept  in  the 
same  way  and  manner  as  they  were  the  year  1758,  that  those 
living  within  one  and  one  half  miles  of  the  meetinghouse, 
pay  to  the  center  school."  Chester,  New  Hampshire,  in  1759, 
voted  "  that  for  conveniency  of  schooling,  three  quarters  of 
a  mile  round  the  old  meetinghouse  shall  have  the  privilege 
of  sending  to  school  there." 

In  other  towns  points  of  the  compass  seemed  sufficiently 
definite  ;  there  are  many  votes  like  the  following:  At  Milton, 
in  1669,  "Ensign  Ebenezer  Tucker  was  chosen  schoolmaster 
for  the  west  end  of  the  town,  to  teach  children  and  youth  to 
read  and  write  and  he  accepted  the  same.  Thomas  Vose 
was  chosen  schoolmaster  for  the  east  end  of  the  town,  to 


78      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

teach  children  and  youth  to  write,  he  accepting  the  same." 
Beverly,  in  1749,  voted  the  sum  of  thirty-two  pounds,  old 
tenor,  "  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  east  part  of  the  town,  to 
enable  them  to  keep  a  school  four  months  in  the  year." 
Brookline,  in  1760,  excused  the  south  part  of  the  town  "from 
any  tax  towards  other  schooling  of  the  town  as  long  as  the 
said  inhabitants  keep  up  and  maintain  such  schooling." 

Medfield,  in  1733,  voted  "to  divide  the  time  when  the 
school  shall  be  kept  as  to  two  thirds  parts  of  the  time  in  a 
schoolhouse  in  the  middle  of  the  town  and  one  third  part  of 
the  time  in  the  schoolhouses  that  are  built  by  particular  per- 
sons at  the  north  and  south  ends  of  the  town,  free  from  charge 
for  house  room  at  said  houses  for  twenty  years  next  ensuing." 
In  1756  they  voted  "to  set  off  that  part  of  the  town  south 
of  South  Plain  brook  including  Thomas  Clark,  for  the  south 
side  school,  and  to  use  their  own  money.  Voted  to  set  off 
the  north  school  as  far  as  Jesse  Pratt's,  they  to  have  their 
own  money."  In  1760  they  voted  "  to  divide  the  school  into 
three  districts  for  the  term  of  twenty  years." 

Duxbury,  in  1735,  voted  "  that  their  school  should  be  kept 
in  four  places  or  parts  of  the  town  annually."  They  also  voted 
"  to  have  two  schoolmasters  to  serve  half  a  year,  one  school- 
master to  serve  one  end  of  said  town,  and  the  other  to  serve 
at  the  other  end  of  said  town,  except  the  northerly  end  of  said 
town  agrees  to  have  two  schoolmasters  among  themselves  for 
one  quarter  of  a  year,  instead  of  one  schoolmaster  for  half  a 
year  above  mentioned." 

At  other  times  districts  are  designated  by  local  names. 
Hampton,  in  1699,  voted  "  that  if  the  Falls  side,  so  called,  in 
Hampton,  do  provide  and  pay  a  schoolmaster  for  the  teach- 
ing of  their  children,  they  shall  be  exempted  from  paying  to 
the  schoolmaster  on  the  town  side,  so  called." 

In  1733  Harwich  had  a  moving  school  in  the  north  part 
of  the  town,  and  ordered  "  that  Potanumaquint  people  and 
the  people  on  the  south  side  shall  have  the  school  money 


MOVING  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS     79 

that  they  are  assessed,  to  lay  out  in  the  support  of  schools, 
as  they  and  the  selectmen  shall  agree."  Rehoboth,  in  171 2, 
voted  "  to  raise  ^£30  annually  for  the  support  of  schools, 
of  which  the  neighborhood  of  Palmer's  river  should  have 
j£io  and  be  obliged  to  maintain  an  English  school,  and 
the  old  part  of  the  town  and  Watchemocket  should  have 
the  remaining  ;:^20  and  be  obliged  to  maintain  a  grammar 
school." 

The  first  mention  of  a  teacher  in  Portland  is  in  1733,  when 
Robert  Bayley  was  hired  "to  keep  school  six  months  upon 
the  Neck,  three  months  at  Purpooduck,  and  three  on  the 
north  side  of  Back  Cove."  Deerfield,  in  1750,  voted  "to 
allow  the  people  of  Green  River  a  schoolmaster  two  months 
provided  they  can  procure  a  suitable  room  to  keep  the  school 
in."  The  next  year  they  voted  "  that  a  school  be  kept  at  Green 
River  three  months  in  the  winter  season,  this  year,  and  that 
the  school  be  omitted  three  months  in  the  town  in  the  sum- 
mer." Londonderry,  in  1737,  voted  "to  employ  one  master 
to  keep  two  months  in  the  south  range,  two  months  in  the 
double  range,  two  months  in  the  Aikens  range,  two  months 
in  the  back  range,  two  months  in  the  English  range,  one 
month  in  the  Park,  and  one  month  in  Canada." 

Indefinite  district  lines  evidently  led  to  local  jealousies, 
especially  when  each  school  depended  on  the  amount  of  tax 
the  district  paid.  To  eke  out  the  scanty  schooling,  parents 
sent  their  children  into  more  than  their  own  district.  Towns 
took  up  the  matter,  deliberated  upon  it,  and  made  decisions. 
Windham,  New  Hampshire,  in  1 790,  voted  "  to  class  the  town 
into  seven  classes.  Also  voted  that  no  class  shall  interfere 
with  another  by  sending  scholars  out  of  one  class  into  an- 
other." Weare,  in  1780,  voted  "that  no  person  shall  absent 
from  one  district  to  another  without  the  consent  of  the  major 
part  of  the  district  or  of  the  selectmen."  This  evidently  did 
not  prove  effective,  for,  in  1786,  they  also  voted  "that  no 
district  shall  not  infringe  upon  any  other." 


8o      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

In  Connecticut,  after  the  schools  were  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  ecclesiastical  parishes,  it  was  not  an  uncommon  occur- 
rence for  rival  parishes  to  refuse  to  receive  children  from  any 
other  parish  than  their  own. 

Sutton,  in  1745,  voted  "that  one  school  shall  be  kept  in 
each  parish  according  to  the  tax  paid  by  each,  and  that  each 
parish  have  liberty  to  send  to  either  school."  But  the  next 
generation  was  not  so  liberal,  for,  in  1773,  they  voted,  "No 
schoolmaster  employed  in  keeping  school  in  any  particular 
squadron  of  this  town,  grammar  schoolmaster  excepted,  shall 
instruct  any  scholars  sent  to  them  from  other  squadrons." 

Worcester,  however,  went  to  the  other  extreme  and  passed 
the  most  precise  and  inclusive  vote  that  can  be  found  any- 
where. In  1795,  after  much  changing  of  district  lines,  they 
voted  "  that  notwithstanding  the  above  votes,  if  any  individual 
or  individuals  in  town  find  it  for  his  or  their  interest  to  leave 
his  or  their  school  district  and  join  any  other  in  town,  that 
he  or  they  may  have  leave,  provided  he  or  they  make  known 
his  or  their  election  before  the  first  of  March  next,  by  giving 
information  to  the  town  clerk  in  writing,  mentioning  the 
district  that  he  or  they  have  a  desire  to  belong  to." 

In  arranging  for  the  support  of  these  schools,  again  there 
were  no  landmarks  of  experience,  and  a  trail  had  to  be  blazed. 
A  common  method  was  to  give  each  district  a  certain  sum 
of  money  outright,  as  in  Woburn  in  1760:  "They  would 
allow  to  each  of  the  extreme  parts  of  the  first  parish  in  said 
town  the  sum  of  ;^33  6s.  8d.,  old  tenor,  or  equivalent  in  law- 
ful money,  to  be  draughted  out  of  the  treasury  by  each  part, 
provided  they  appropriate  said  money  in  hiring  some  suitable 
person  to  keep  school  for  the  instruction  of  their  children, 
before  the  first  day  of  March  next."  Similar  votes  were 
passed  for  some  fifteen  years.  Weston  also,  in  1796,  voted 
"  that  each  of  the  school  districts  in  town  may  draw  out  of 
the  treasury  the  sum  of  twenty  dollars  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
viding a  woman's  school  the  ensuing  summer  "  :  and  voted 


MOVING  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS     8i 

"that  ninety  dollars  be  appropriated  to  each  district  to  pro- 
cure reading  and  writing  masters  the  ensuing  winter."  Dover, 
New  Hampshire,  in  1767,  voted  "  that  £40  lawful  money  be 
raised  for  the  support  of  schools  for  the  year  ensuing  for  the 
several  parts  of  the  town,  and  to  be  at  the  discretion  of  the 
selectmen."  And  in  1776  they  voted  "that  the  selectmen 
lay  out  ;^5o  lawful  money  in  English  schools  in  five  dis- 
tricts of  the  town,  instead  of  having  a  grammar  school  this 
present  year." 

But  the  commonest  way  was  that  which  was  the  most  un- 
fair to  the  children,  affording  schools  according  to  the  wealth 
of  the  district,  and  dividing  the  school  money  "  proportion- 
ably."  Dudley,  in  1739,  voted  "to  raise  ^20  of  money  to 
defray  the  charges  of  schooling,  the  center  part  of  the  town 
to  have  their  part  of  the  above  said  money,  and  also  each  end 
of  the  town  to  draw  their  proportion  of  the  money  and  to  lay 
it  out  in  schooling  their  children."  Weare,  New  Hampshire, 
in  1777,  voted  "that  all  districts  should  employ  masters  or 
mistresses  to  suit  themselves,  and  when  they  had  done  so  to 
apply  to  the  selectmen  for  their  part  of  the  school  money." 
In  1779  it  was  again  voted  that  "every  district  shall  hire 
school  masters  or  mistresses  to  teach  their  children,  and  that 
all  delinquent  districts  that  neglect  or  refuse  to  hire  masters 
or  mistresses  shall  forfeit  their  proportion  of  the  school 
money  to  the  town." 

Stratford,  Connecticut,  in  1717,  voted  "that  the  farmers 
shall  have  the  use  of  their  part  of  the  40  shillings  per  ;;^iooo 
allowed  by  law,  for  seven  years  ensuing,  provided  they  educate 
their  children  according  to  law."  Brookline,  in  17 14,  voted 
"that  the  sums  of  money  raised  for  the  keeping  of  schools 
at  the  three  parts  of  the  town  be  distributed  and  paid  to  the 
school  which  each  man  shall  improve";  and  in  1723  they 
voted  "  that  all  the  people  that  live  in  each  precinct,  both 
their  polls  and  estates,  shall  pay  to  the  school  in  the  precinct 
where  they  live."    Dedham,  in  1752,  "agreeable  to  vote  of 


82      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

town  at  May  meeting  that  the  schools  should  be  kept  in  pro- 
portion to  the  tax  in  each  precinct,"  divided  the  time  thus : 

First  Precinct i66  days 

The  South 79  days 

Clapboard  Trees 67  days 

West  Precinct 52  days 

Harpswell,  Maine,  in  1760,  voted  "that  each  part  of  the 
Neck  and  also  the  Island  should  draw  their  proportionate 
part  of  the  school  money  that  was  collected."  Portland,  in 
1762,  voted  "that  each  district  should  draw  money  in  pro- 
portion to  the  taxes  it  paid,  provided  a  school  were  kept  in 
it  the  whole  year."  HoUis,  New  Hampshire,  in  1757,  granted 
four  hundred  pounds,  old  tenor,  for  school  purposes  and  voted 
"  that  it  be  granted  to  every  suitable  number  of  persons  that 
shall  agree  together  in  any  part  of  the  town,  to  have  their  pro- 
portion for  keeping  a  school  among  themselves,  and  those  that 
don't  join,  their  money  is  to  be  paid  into  the  town  treasury 
for  a  school  in  the  middle  of  the  town."  Watertown,  in  1683, 
agreed  "  that  those  who  dwell  on  the  west  side  of  Stony 
brook  be  freed  from  school  tax  of  1683,  that  they  may  be 
better  able  to  teach  among  themselves."  In  1700  they  voted 
"  that  the  Farmers'  precinct  by  paying  £,20  be  freed  from 
any  other  school  charges  this  year." 

In  1756  North  Brookfield  voted  "  that  the  school  be  kept 
in  the  several  precincts  in  this  town,  each  precinct  to  have 
its  equal  proportion  and  to  be  stated  by  the  inhabitants  of 
each  precinct  in  their  own  respective  precincts."  Under  this 
vote  the  second  precinct  "  assumed  the  right  to  levy  a  tax  on 
its  own  inhabitants  for  the  support  of  its  own  schools."  The 
tax  was  not  paid  "  as  not  being  in  the  power  of  a  precinct 
to  grant  money  for  any  use  but  to  build  meetinghouses  and 
support  ministers."  In  1760  an  appeal  was  made  to  the 
General  Court  praying  "  that  the  constables  may  be  em- 
powered to  collect  said  tax."  This  was  granted,  and  in  1765 
districts  were  formed  with  their  proportion  of  school  money. 


MOVING  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS     83 

Cohasset,  formerly  the  second  precinct  of  Hingham,  in 
1 72 1  asked  for  its  share  of  the  school  tax;  this  was  evi- 
dently granted,  for  a  committee  of  three  men  was  chosen  "  to 
take  care  concerning  the  school  and  to  take  the  money  from 
the  town  of  Hingham,  and  to  dispose  of  it  as  followeth  ;  one 
third  part  of  it  to  be  paid  to  a  school  dame  for  teaching  the 
children  to  read,  and  two  thirds  of  the  money  to  be  disposed 
of  to  teach  the  children  to  write  and  cipher."  The  precinct 
had  no  part  of  the  school  money  for  several  years  after  this, 
and  after  many  requests  to  the  mother  town,  which  were 
denied,  petitioned  the  General  Court,  '"  praying  that  they 
may  have  the  benefit  of  the  said  school,  to  be  kept  within 
their  precinct  one  third  of  the  year,  or  that  they  may  be 
exempted  from  paying  to  the  support  of  that  school  and 
allowed  to  provide  a  schoolmaster  to  instruct  their  children 
in  reading  and  writing."  Hingham  did  not  wait  for  an  answer, 
but  arranged  the  matter  to  the  satisfaction  of  all.  In  1728 
the  precincts  were  allowed  to  draw  their  proportion  of  the 
school  money,  provided  they  "  employ  the  same  for  and 
towards  the  support  of  a  school  among  themselves  and  for 
no  other  use."  In  1763  it  was  voted  "that  the  inhabitants 
of  each  parish  should  draw  their  just  proportion  of  money 
raised  the  year  ensuing,  for  the  use  of  the  schools,  and  im- 
prove the  same  as  they  shall  determine  by  a  major  vote  of 
their  inhabitants  aforesaid."  In  1 773-1 774,  after  Cohasset 
had  become  a  separate  town,  the  school  money  was  divided 
among  the  districts  in  two  ways,  according  to  the  amount 
paid,  and  according  to  the  number  of  children. 

Chester,  New  Hampshire,  generally  divided  the  school 
money  according  to  the  amounts  paid  by  the  parishes  or  dis- 
tricts. It  was  disposed  to  be  perfectly  fair,  as  is  evidenced 
by  this  vote  of  1763  :  "That  it  be  left  to  the  selectmen  to 
enquire  into  and  see  how  much  is  justly  due  to  the  north 
parish,  so  called,  for  their  proportion  of  the  school  money 
raised  in  this  town  for  three  years  past,  and  if  they  have  not 


84      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

had  their  share,  then  to  deHver  the  same  to  them,  provided 
they  lay  out  the  same  for  schooling  among  themselves :  and 
also  all  the  other  parts  of  the  town  that  have  not  had  their 
proportion  of  the  schooling,  nor  money  as  above  mentioned, 
shall  be  considered  and  have  their  proportion  on  the  same 
conditions." 

Braintree,  in  1 790,  after  arranging  for  the  grammar  school, 
voted  "the  remainder  of  the 'money  to  be  divided  in  each 
precinct  according  to  what  they  pay  for  polls  and  estates, 
and  each  precinct  to  lay  out  their  own  money  as  this  com- 
mittee shall  direct."  Mendon,  in  1803,  voted  "  to  divide  the 
school  money  the  present  year,  one  half  to  be  divided  accord- 
ing to  the  value  and  one  half  according  to  the  number  of 
scholars."  Framingham,  in  1750,  had  this  article  in  the  town 
warrant :  "  To  see  if  the  town  will  choose  a  meet  person  in 
each  district  of  the  outskirt  schools  in  said  town,  to  draw 
their  respective  parts  of  money  out  of  the  town  treasury." 
This  was  granted. 

Sometimes  towns  went  to  extremes  in  the  subdivision  of 
the  school  money  and  allowed  individuals  to  draw  out  their 
school  taxes  and  expend  them  personally,  Worcester,  in 
1790,  voted  "  that  Capt.  David  Moore  be  allowed  to  take  his 
proportion  of  the  school  money  from  the  usual  apportion- 
ment and  apply  it  in  schooling  some  other  way  the  year 
ensuing."  Chelsea  voted,  in  1768,  that  three  men  be  allowed 
"  their  proportionable  part  of  their  taxes  of  what  they  pay  to 
the  town  school,  they  laying  the  same  out  for  schooling  their 
children."  Under  this  vote,  their  money  is  paid  them  by  the 
selectmen  for  more  than  thirty  years. 

Certain  definite  obligations  and  certain  definite  powers 
were  granted  the  districts,  both  as  regards  masters  and  as 
regards  houses.  *  In  1768  Winchendon  allowed  "the  ex- 
treme parts  of  the  town  to  have  a  school  by  themselves,  they 
providing  a  place  and  keeper."  Middletown,  in  1754,  voted 
"  each  squadron  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  managing  their 


MOVING  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS     8$ 

own  schoolhouse  and  lands,  by  leasing  out  the  same,  and  em- 
ploying schoolmasters  as  it  shall  be  most  agreeable  to  them." 
This  was  changed  in  1789,  so  that  "all  persons  who  send 
children  to  school  to  the  west  house  shall  have  full  power  of 
choosing  a  schoolmaster  to  keep  school  in  said  house,  and  all 
other  persons  who  have  no  children  to  send  shall  be  excluded 
from  any  vote  in  choosing  said  schoolmaster,"  This  was  too 
radical  and  was  soon  repealed.  Waltham,  in  1745,  required 
each  squadron  '"  to  furnish  a  place  for  the  school  and  con- 
venient board  for  the  teacher." 

In  1735  Harvard  voted  "  that  each  quarter  of  the  town  be 
empowered  to  choose  their  own  schoolmaster."  In  1740, 
after  being  presented  for  not  .having  a  school  according  to 
law,  a  special  town  meeting  was  held  and  the  following 
significant  votes  were  passed : 

"'  Voted  to  have  the  school  for  the  future  in  the  quarters. 

"  Voted  that  each  quarter  shall  have  a  quarter  of  the  money 
spent  in  schooling  among  themselves  as  it  shall  be  granted 
from  time  to  time. 

"  Voted  that  each  quarter  shall  find  or  build  a  convenient 
house  to  keep  the  school  in. 

"  Voted  that  the  selectmen  shall  have  full  power  to  order 
the  school  in  each  quarter  from  time  to  time ;  it  is  to  be 
understood  that  if  one  quarter  has  the  school  in  a  good 
time,  then  to  have  it  next  in  time  not  so  good,  as  it  shall  be 
judged  by  the  selectmen  who  are  fully  empowered  to  manage 
said  affair. 

"Voted  that  if  any  quarter  neglects  to  build  or  procure  a 
convenient  house  to  keep  the  school  in,  when  it  comes  to 
their  turn,  the  school  shall  be  kept  in  the  next  quarter  whose 
turn  it  would  be." 

Weston,  in  1768,  voted  to  have  schools  in  several  places, 
including  the  south  side,  "  if  the  south  side  provided  suit- 
able houses  to  keep  their  said  two  schools  in."  The  next 
year  they  voted  "  to  keep  four  writing  schools  on  the  same 


86      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

conditions  they  were  kept  last  year,  the  south  side  to  find 
houses  to  keep  their  schools  in." 

These  various  town  movements  and  opinions  finally  became 
embodied  into  statute  law.  In  Connecticut,  in  1 766,  this  was 
enacted  :  "  That  each  town  and  society  shall  have  full  power 
and  authority  to  divide  themselves  into  proper  and  necessary 
districts  for  keeping  their  schools,  and  to  alter  and  regulate 
the  same  from  time  to  time,  as  they  shall  have  occasion ; 
which  districts  so  made  shall  draw  their  equal  proportion  of 
said  monies  as  well  as  all  other  public  monies,  for  the  sup- 
port of  schools  belonging  to  such  respective  towns  or  societies, 
according  to  the  lists  of  each  respective  district  therein." 

In  the  revision  of  1799  this  was  added  :  '"  And  each  school 
society  is  hereby  empowered  to  appoint  annually  some  proper 
person  a  committee  for  each  school  under  its  superintend- 
ency  to  provide  an  instructor  for  such  school,  with  the 
approbation  of  the  visitors  thereof,  hereinafter  provided,  and 
to  manage  the  prudentials  of  such  school." 

In  Massachusetts,  in  1789,  there  was  enacted  that  law 
which  Horace  Mann  in  his  tenth  report  called  "the  most 
unfortunate  law  on  the  subject  of  common  schools  ever 
enacted  in  the  state." 


IV 

THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER 

In  supplying  teachers  for  these  early  schools  there  was  no 
standard,  though  there  was  some  knowledge  obtained  from 
the  grammar  schools  of  England.  There  were  no  educated 
people  except  men  ;  therefore  the  early  New  England  teacher 
was  a  schoolmaster,  and  a  schoolmaster  he  remained  for  some 
generations.  The  first  mention  of  one  is  in  that  oft-quoted 
Boston  record  of  1635  :  "  Likewise  it  was  then  generally 
agreed  upon  that  our  brother  Philemon  Pormont  shall  be 
entreated  to  become  schoolmaster  for  the  teaching  and  nour- 
turing  of  children  among  us."  Much  has  been  made  of  this 
earliest  record,  especially  of  the  term  "brother,"  as  dignifying 
the  schoolmaster.  But  a  later  record  of  this  same  meeting 
says,  "  also  that  our  brother  Richard  Fairbanks  shall  be  en- 
treated to  take  the  cows  to  keeping  that  are  upon  the  Neck, 
and  in  case  he  cannot,  then  our  brother  Thomas  Wordall  to 
be  entreated  thereunto."  "  Brother  "  was  a  common  term,  and 
it  will-  be  noticed  that  while  an  alternate  was  named  for  the 
cows,  there  was  none  for  the  children.  Cowherds  were  more 
plentiful  than  schoolmasters. 

Generally  throughout  the  entire  colonial  period  the  school- 
master market  was  "  short."  As  early  as  1624  Governor 
Bradford  wrote :  "  Indeed,  we  have  no  common  school  for 
want  of  a  fit  person  or  hitherto  means  to  maintain  one"; 
and  in  1642  Governor  Dudley,  writing  to  his  son  in  Eng- 
land, said :  "  There  is  a  want  of  schoolmasters  hereabouts." 
This  want  extended  over  many  years.  Many  Harvard  grad- 
uates taught  for  a  year  or  two,  but  most  of  them  were  destined 
for  the  ministry.    Trask  makes  this  statement :  "Of  the  70 

87 


88      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

teachers  whose  names  have  been  found  connected  with  the 
Dorchester  schools  during  the  time  above  mentioned,  nearly 
a  century  and  three  quarters,  53,  or  three  fourths  of  the  whole 
number,  graduated  from  Harvard  College.  3 1  of  these  school- 
masters, or  nearly  one  half,  were  ordained  ministers,  the  most 
of  them  subsequent  to  their  teaching  school." 

As  the  meetinghouse  was  the  first  public  building  erected 
in  most  towns,  the  spirit  of  the  age  pointed  to  the  ministry 
as  the  natural  work  of  the  college  graduate.  Everywhere  the 
»yschool  was  secondary  to  the  church.  Bom  from  the  fear  of 
a  future  illiterate  ministry,  it  was  fostered  by  the  clergy,  ruled 
by  them,  and  made  the  stepping-stone  to  the  church.  Very 
frequently  the  first  schoolhouse  was  the  first  meetinghouse, 
abandoned  when  the  second  one  was  built. 

An  illustration  of  how  the  school  was  viewed  in  its  rela- 
tion to  the  church  is  this  record  from  Dorchester  in  1669 : 
"  A  motion  being  made  by  our  brethren  and  friends  living 
at  or  near  Hadley  unto  the  town  for  to  dismiss  Mr,  Atherton 
from  his  engagement  to  the  school  in  Dorchester  unto  the 
public  work  of  the  ministry  with  them  there ;  it  is  therefore 
put  to  the  vote  whether  the  town  will  be  willing  to  dismiss 
Mr.  Atherton  from  his  engagement  by  the  29th  of  September 
next,  or  sooner  if  the  town  by  their  committee  can  provide 
a  supply  for  their  school.    The  vote  is  in  the  affirmative." 

In  many  settlements  there  would  have  been  no  schools 
but  for  the  self-sacrifice  of  this  same  clergy.  This  is  eminently 
true  in  the  Plymouth  colony,  where  for  more  than  a  generation 
there  were  no  public  schools.  All  of  Duxbury's  early  school- 
masters were  clergymen  who  received  the  youth  into  their 
families  and  fitted  them  for  college.  The  same  was  true  of 
Scituate,  where  it  is  "known  that  Mr.  Chauncey  prepared  his 
own  sons  and  others  for  college  and  also  several  young  men 
for  the  ministry,  between  1640  and  1650."  In  Swansea,  in 
1673,  pastor  Myles,  an  English  university  graduate,  was  the 
teacher.    The  Reverend  Samuel  Danforth  was  the  grammar 


THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER  89 

master  in  Taunton  for  years.  In  1646  the  Reverend  John 
Higginson,  the  "  teaching  elder  of  the  church  "  in  Guilford, 
was  also  the  schoolmaster.  The  Reverend  Mr.  Shepard  was 
pastor  and  teacher  at  Lynn  for  a  long  series  of  years. 
"  Later  in  the  colonial  period  the  same  conditions  obtained, 
especially  in  the  newer  settlements  or  where  new  grammar 
schools  were  established.  In  Wenham,  in  1779,  the  grammar 
school  was  "  taught  by  Rev.  Mr.  Swain  in  addition  to  his  pul- 
pit and  pastoral  labors.  For  this  service,  he  received  in  the 
depreciated  currency  of  the  times  ;^3CK),  which  might  have 
been  worth  ^50."  Manchester,  in  1727,  appointed  a  com- 
mittee "to  treat  with  our  Rev.  Mr.  Cheever  and  to  know 
of  him  whether  he  will  provide  us  a  school  or  not,  and  if  he 
refuses  to  provide  for  us  any  longer,  to  reckon  with  him  for 
all  his  disbursements  for  the  support  of  a  school  and  to  bring 
the  account  to  the  town  at  the  adjournment."  In  Gilmanton, 
in  1769,  the  Reverend  William  Parsons  was  the  first  school- 
master, and  he  continued  this  service  for  the  benefit  of  the 
children  some  time  after  his  labors  as  a  minister  had  ceased. 
At  Boscawen,  in  1761,  "the  teacher  employed  was  Mr. 
Varney  who  had  preached  for  a  short  time  after  the  death 
of  Rev.  Mr.  Stevens."  After  him  came  the  Reverend  Robie 
Morrill,  who  had  been  dismissed  from  the  ministry.  At  Bed- 
ford, until  1733,  "  the  church  was  the  only  school  and  during 
several  succeeding  years  the  principal  means  of  education. 
The  minister  was  the  instructor  and  he  was  well  supported. 
The  Rev.  Nicholas  Bowes,  the  first  minister  of  the  town,  dis- 
missed in  August,  1754,  taught  the  school  the  following  winter. 
In  one  of  the  early  winters  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Hancock  of 
Lexington  taught  the  school  and  boarded  with  his  sister." 

This  account  of  a  minister  in  Grafton  is  interesting : 
"  Rev.  Aaron  Hutch,  who  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  church 
here  in  1750,  not  only  united  in  himself  the  clergy  and  the 
farmer,  after  the  common  custom  of  his  time,  but  combined 
with  his  clerical  and  agricultural  pursuits  the  office  of  teacher. 


90  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Well  authenticated  tradition  has  handed  down  to  us  the  ingen- 
ious expedient  by  which  he  managed  so  to  economize  time 
as  to  meet  his  multifarious  engagements.  His  method  was  to 
teach  Latin  and  Greek  and  probably  other  branches  as  he 
wrought  in  the  field,  his  pupils  being  required  to  follow  him 
as  he  followed  the  plow."  This  record  might  be  continued 
through  a  long  list. 

How  this  combination  of  minister  and  schoolmaster  affected 
the  youthful  mind  may  be  judged  by  the  remarks  of  a  speaker 
at  the  Wilton  (New  Hampshire)  Centennial.  Recalling  his 
early  days,  he  said :  "  My  earliest  impressions  about  a  min- 
ister were  that  he  was  the  most  awful  being  in  the  world. 
Next  to  him  the  schoolmaster,  judging  from  what  I  had  heard, 
appeared  to  my  imagination  awful  above  all  others.  With 
what  profound  dread  was  it  then,  that  I  took  my  way  for 
the  first  time  to  the  winter  school,  for  the  awful  schoolmaster 
whom  I  was  to  meet  was  no  other  than  the  still  more  awful 
minister ;  the  great  tall  man  dressed  in  black  who  preached 
and  prayed  in  such  solemn  tones  on  the  Sabbath.  How  my 
heart  failed  me  and  how  my  little  frame  trembled  as  I  entered 
the  schoolhouse  door.  But  how  different  was  my  experience 
from  what  I  anticipated.  That  awful  man  received  me  with 
so  sweet  a  smile  and  spoke  in  such  tender  tones  and  in  all 
things  treated  me  and  all  the  rest  so  gently,  that  my  feelings 
were  at  once  changed  to  those  of  confidence  and  love." 

The  quality  of  the  schoolmaster  who  was  not  a  minister  as 
well  was  rigidly  inspected ;  not  the  quality  of  his  teaching, 
but  the  quality  of  his  religion.  Every  schoolmaster  must  be 
properly  branded.  In  1654  this  was  the  law:  "  For  as  much 
as  it  greatly  concerns  the  welfare  of  this  country  that  the 
youth  thereof  be  educated  not  only  in  good  literature  but 
sound  doctrine,  this  Court  doth  therefore  commend  it  to  the 
serious  consideration  and  special  care  of  the  officers  of  the 
college  and  the  selectmen  in  the  several  towns,  not  to  admit 
or  suffer  any  such  to  be  continued  in  the  office  or  place  of 


THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER  91 

teaching,  educating  or  instructing  of  youth  or  children  in  the 
college  or  schools,  that  have  manifested  themselves  unsound 
in  the  faith,  or  scandalous  in  their  lives,  and  not  giving  due 
satisfaction  according  to  the  rules  of  Christ." 

Some  years  earlier  Hartford  had  instructed  her  selectmen 
to  find  as  schoolmaster  "  a  scholar,  no  common  man,  a  gen- 
tleman," and  Portsmouth,  nearly  half  a  century  later,  voted 
"  that  care  be  taken  that  an  able  schoolmaster  be  provided 
for  the  town  as  the  law  directs,  not  vicious  in  conversation." 
No  man  could  have  a  private  school  who  did  not  meet  the 
popular  demands,  the  law  of  1712  reading:  "None  shall 
keep  a  school  but  such  as  are  of  sober  and  good  conversa- 
tion with  the  allowance  of  the  selectmen,  and  if  any  person 
shall  be  so  hardy  as  to  set  up  a  school  without  such  allowance, 
he  shall  forfeit  40  shillings  to  the  use  of  the  poor  of  the 
town."  The  incoming  schoolmaster  must  be  certified,  not 
only  by  the  minister  of  the  town  in  which  he  proposed  to 
teach  but  by  the  minister  of  one  or  more  adjoining  towns. 
Selection  by  the  selectmen,  election  by  the  inhabitants  in 
open  town  meeting,  and  approbation  by  the  ministers  was 
the  legal  straight  and  narrow  road  to  teaching. 

Some  of  these  certificates  are  entertaining ;  they  say 
enough  but  not  too  much.  This  one  was  issued  in  Wenham 
in  1743:  "Mr.  Jonathan  Perkins,  having  been  agreed  with 
to  keep  school  in  our  town  for  six  months,  we  being  well 
satisfied  of  his  ability  for  that  service  and  his  sober  and  good 
conversation,  do  approbate  the  said  Jonathan  Perkins  to  keep 
a  school  in  our  town  for  the  time  agreed  on,  he  continuing 
in  such  conversation." 

This  one  was  given  in  Plymouth  in  1724  :  "  We,  the  sub- 
scribers, ministers  of  the  gospel,  do  hereby  signify  that  we 
do  approbate  Mr.  John  Sparhawk  as  a  person  well  capacitated 
and  qualified  to  teach  a  grammar  school  and  accordingly  do 
recommend  him  to  the  town  of  Plymouth  or  any  other  town 
where  God  in  his  providence  shall  see  cause  to  call  him." 


92      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Three  ministers  of  Medfield  and  the  adjoining  towns 
signed  this  in  1723  :  "  These  may  certify  whom  it  may  con- 
cern, that  we,  the  subscribers,  understanding  that  the  select- 
men of  Medfield  have  procured  Mr.  Jabez  Wight  to  teach 
the  grammar  school  in  Medfield,  and  being  desired  by  the 
said  selectmen  to  signify  our  approbation  of  him  as  the  law 
directs,  do  well  approve  the  said  Mr.  Wight  as  a  person 
suitably  qualified  according  to  law  for  that  service,  and  some 
of  us  do  know  that  he  is  now  engaged  in  that  work  in 
Medfield." 

The  earliest  certificate  I  have  found  was  given  in  Water- 
town  in  1680:  "These  are  to  certify  that  Mr.  William 
Goddard  of  Watertown,  whom  the  said  town  by  covenanting 
engaged  to  teach  such  children  as  should  be  sent  to  him  to 
learn  the  rules  of  the  Latin  tongue,  hath  those  accomplish- 
ments which  render  him  capable  to  discharge  the  trust  in  that 
respect  committed  to  him.    Signed,  John  Sherman,  pastor." 

Boston  required  the  approval  of  the  ministers  before  com- 
pleting any  engagement  with  a  master.  In  1693  it  is  recorded  : 
"  Sundry  of  the  ministers  in  this  town  having  recommended 
Mr.  Nathaniel  Williams  to  be  a  fit  person  to  be  joined  with 
Mr.  Cheever  in  the  government  of  the  Latin  school  ordered 
that  the  said  Mr.  Williams  be  treated  with  about  the  same." 
And  in  1718:  "Whereas  the  Reverend  ministers  of  this 
town  have  already,  most  of  them,  signified  under  their  hands 
their  approbation  of  the  selectmen's  choice  of  Mr.  Thomas 
Robie  to  succeed  as  master  of  the  north  grammar  school ; 
Voted,  that  the  town  clerk  be  directed  in  the  name  of  the 
selectmen  at  the  first  opportunity  to  give  the  said  Mr.  Robie 
an  invitation  to  undertake  the  charge  as  master  of  the  said 
school,  and  to  desire  him  as  soon  as  may  be  to  signify  to 
them  his  mind  and  inclination  relating  thereto." 

The  spirit  of  these  requirements  came  down  with  the  de- 
velopment of  the  schools ;  and  except  in  regard  to  religion 
the  same  demands  are  made  to-day.  But  the  minister  has  been 


THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER  93 

eliminated  as  the  deciding  factor ;  he  was  eliminated  in  at 
least  one  town  in  New  Hampshire  a  hundred  years  ago.  In 
1809  a  committee  in  Boscawen  made  this  report:  "As  no 
person  can  be  permitted  to  engage  in  a  school  without  certifi- 
cates of  his  or  her  qualifications  and  good  moral  character,  it 
is  the  united  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  while  some  repu- 
table grammar  schoolmaster  and  minister  of  the  gospel  or 
preceptor  of  an  academy  &c  certify  his  or  her  qualifications 
in  the  various  branches  of  literature,  the  selectmen  are  the, 
proper  body  to  certify  to  the  moral  character  of  the  person, 
and  we  shall  therefore  govern  ourselves  accordingly." 

Scholastic  requirements  were  not  excessive.  The  New 
Hampshire  law  of  17 19  required  teachers  to  be  able  to  teach 
children  to  read  and  write,  and  the  law  of  1789  added  arith- 
metic. In  1788  the  town  of  New  Boston  voted  "to  hire  a 
grammar  schoolmaster  for  a  year  as  cheap  as  they  can,  and 
that  said  schoolmaster  shall  pass  an  examination."  A  com- 
mittee of  three  was  appointed  "to  see  if  he  is  qualified  for 
the  office  as  to  the  languages,  figures  and  mathematics." 
It  is  said  that  all  the  qualifications  needed  in  Springfield, 
in  1800,  was  "the  knack  to  continue  in  the  schoolroom  the 
discipline  of  the  kitchen,  and  being  a  good  mender  of  quill 
penp."  Denison  Olmsted,  in  a  speech  at  Yale  in  1816,  said: 
"The  great  defect  in  our  school  education  ...  is  the  ignorance 
and  incompetency  of  schoolmasters.  Now  it  is  a  notorious 
fact  that  a  great  part  of  our  public  school  money  is  expended 
on  such  teachers  as  this  :  teachers  whose  geography  scarcely 
transcends  the  mountains  that  bound  their  horizon ;  whose 
science  is  the  multiplication  table ;  and  whose  language, 
history  and  belle-lettres  are  all  comprised  in  the  American 
Preceptor  and  Webster's  spelling  book." 

The  schoolmaster  was  dealt  with  in  open  town  meeting 
with  refreshing  frankness.  Hampton,  New  Hampshire,  in 
1674,  made  this  record  "on  the  question  whether  the  town 
would  receive  a  certain  man  of  Andover  as  schoolmaster, 


94      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

and  it  was  decided  in  the  negative."  A  generation  later, 
"  the  late  schoolmaster,  Humphrey  Sullivan,  was  put  to  vote 
and  not  accepted  of." 

Two  curious  votes  are  recorded  of  a  meeting  legally  warned 
and  held  in  the  schoolhouse  in  the  Up-N"eck  district  of  Hart- 
ford. They  sum  up  a  whole  tragedy:  first,  voted  "that  the 
schoolmaster  read  a  paragraph  before  this  meeting" ;  second, 
voted  '"  that  the  master  be  dismissed  from  keeping  a  school 
in  this  district." 

A  two  years'  struggle  in  Dedham  is  recorded  in  a  series 
of  votes  beginning :  "  It  is  agreed  that  Mr.  Hinchman  leave 
off  keeping  school  when  this  present  year  is  up,  for  the  space 
of  six  months,  and  attend  it  again  at  the  end  of  said  term." 
This  was  in  1683,  and  the  next  year  "the  town  by  vote 
declare  that  they  desire  the  selectmen  to  give  notice  to  Mr. 
Hinchman,  schoolmaster,  to  desist  and  leave  off  keeping 
school  at  the  end  of  this  present  half  year."  Ten  days  after 
this  vote  was  passed  "Ensign  Fuller  and  Sergeant  Pond  are 
desired  and  deputied  to  give  notice  to  Mr.  Hinchman,  school- 
master, to  desist  and  leave  off  keeping  school  at  the  end  of  this 
present  half  year  according  to  the  vote  of  the  town  at  their  last 
general  meeting."  August  26,  1685,  it  is  recorded:  "This 
day  Mr.  Hinchman  declares  his  earnest  desire  to  be  dismissed 
from  keeping  the  school,  declaring  that  it  would  be  very  great 
detriment  to  him  to  be  holden  longer  to  it,  unto  which  desire 
of  his,  after  serious  consideration,  the  selectmen  returned  this 
answer ;  viz.  that  they  were  not  willing  to  hold  him,  it  being 
so  much  to  his  damage,  but  desired  that  he  would  continue 
in  that  work  so  long  as  he  conveniently  could,  and  further 
agreed  to  make  a  motion  to  James  Thorp  and  to  his  son 
Peter,  that  he,  Peter,  would  keep  school  in  Mr.  Hinchman's 
stead."  In  September,  "  it  was  proposed  to  the  inhabitants 
whether  they  were  willing  that  the  selectmen  should  agree 
with  Peter  Thorp  to  keep  the  school,  to  which  they  answer 
and  declare  by  their  vote,  that  they  are  not  willing."    But  a 


THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER  95 

week  later  the  matter  seems  to  have  been  finally  decided : 
"  This  day  we  made  an  agreement  with  Mr.  Holbrook  to 
keep  the  school  and  to  teach  such  children  as  come  to  read 
and  write  both  English  and  Latin,  according  to  his  ability 
and  their  capacities." 

Stamford,  Connecticut,  in  1671,  voted  "that  Mr.  Rider 
be  admitted  into  the  town  for  a  time  of  trial  to  keep  school 
as  a  committee  appointed  for  that  end  shall  agree  with  him, 
and  if  after  trial  the  town  approve  him  and  he  like  to  stay, 
they  may  after  accommodate  him  according  to  their  capacity, 
as  they  see  need"  ;  but  a  year  later  the  town  voted  "the 
town  is  not  minded  to  hire  Mr.  Rider  any  more."  In  1708 
they  instructed  a  committee  to  hire  "a  stranger  who  is  not 
an  inhabitant  of  the  town  to  keep  school  upon  trial." 

Boston,  in  17 19,  voted  "that  the  town  will  proceed  by  a 
written  vote  to  choose  a  master."  This  voting  by  ballot  was 
continued  for  a  good  many  years,  for  in  1743  is  this: 
"  According  to  the  vote  of  yesterday  the  town  proceeded  to 
the  choice  of  a  schoolmaster  for  the  north  writing  school  in 
the  room  of  Mr.  John  Proctor  who  has  resigned  the  place, 
and  upon  collecting  and  sorting  the  votes  it  appeared  that 
Mr.  Zachariah  Hicks  was  chosen  in  a  very  great  majority." 

In  1722  a  complaint  against  one  of  the  masters  was  re- 
ferred to  a  committee,  who  reported  later  in  the  year  that 
they  had  visited  the  school  and  "  examined  the  scholars  under 
Mr.  Amos  Anger's  tuition  as  to  their  proficiency  in  reading, 
writing,  cyphering,  and  the  master's  ability  of  teaching  and 
instructing  youth,  and  his  rules  and  method  thereof,  and 
are  of  opinion  that  it  will  be  no  service  to  the  town  to  con- 
tinue Mr.  Anger  in  that  employ"  ;  and  then  the  town  by  vote 
dismissed  him. 

A  series  of  extracts  from  the  town  records  of  Dorchester 
show  clearly  the  difficulties  with  which  many  towns  had  to 
contend.  In  1660  it  was  voted  "that  Mr.  Poole  is  to  keep 
the  school  until   his   year   be  ended  which  will  be  about 


96      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

April  20,  1 66 1.  Also  it  was  voted  the  same  day  that  the 
selectmen  are  to  labor  to  provide  a  schoolmaster  by  the  time 
that  Mr.  Poole's  year  be  ended."  Mr.  Poole  was  sixty-seven 
years  old  when  he  began  his  duties  in  Dorchester.  Later  in 
the  year  it  was  voted  "that  they  would  have  a  schoolmaster 
in  the  town.  It  was  voted  the  same  day  by  the  inhabitants 
of  the  town  that  they  would  have  Mr.  Poole  to  be  the  school- 
master for  the  year  ensuing."  A  week  later  the  selectmen 
"  did  covenant  with  Mr.  Poole  to  keep  school  for  the  ensuing 
year."  In  1664  "the  same  day  it  was  put  to  vote  whether 
.Mr.  William  Poole  should  continue  teaching  of  school  for 
future  as  formerly,  until  this  year  shall  be  expired,  which 
will  be  the  first  day  of  December  next,  and  then  the  town  to 
consider  whether  he  shall  continue  teaching  any  longer,  yea 
or  nay.  It  was  voted  in  the  affirmative."  Several  similar 
votes  were  taken  in  succeeding  years. 

In  1666,  "at  a  town  meeting,  after  some  agitation  about 
a  schoolmaster,  it  was  put  to  the  vote  whether  there  should 
be  a  schoolmaster  enquired  after  and  procured  for  to  teach 
school  in  this  town.  It  was  voted  in  the  affirmative  and  by  a 
second  vote  it  was  agreed  unto  that  .  .  .  should  be  desired  and 
empowered  to  endeavor  to  procure  a  schoolmaster.  The  same 
day  it  was  voted  and  granted  that  Mr.  Poole  should  be  spoken 
unto  to  go  on  in  keeping  school  until  another  master  be  pro- 
cured, at  the  same  rate  as  formerly,  proportionably  according 
to  the  time  he  shall  so  do,  and  William  Sumner  is  appointed 
to  speak  to  Mr.  Poole  about  it,  if  he  will  accept  of  it  so  to  do." 

In  1668  the  following  record  was  made:  "Whereas  the 
last  year,  the  town  did  make  choice  of  .  .  .  [three  men]  for 
to  look  out  for  a  schoolmaster  to  teach  school  in  this  town, 
and  that  being  not  yet  attained,  although  it  have  been  en- 
deavored after,  the  town  do  again  renew  their  request  to 
those  men  fore  mentioned,  to  look  out  after  another  master 
and  further  they  do  give  them  full  power  to  agree  with  such 
a  man  as  they  shall  judge  meet,  not  exceeding  ^^40  a  year. 


THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER  97 

The  vote  was  in  the  affirmative.  The  same  day  it  was  agreed 
unto  and  voted  that  Mr.  Poole  should  be  spoken  unto  and  de- 
sired that  he  would  continue  teaching  the  school  as  formerly 
for  the  year  ensuing,  or  until  another  can  be  obtained."  At 
this  time  he  was  seventy-five  years  old ;  he  died  in  1674, 
eight)'-one  years  of  age. 

At  Hartford,  in  1660,  it  was  "  ordered  by  the  vote  of  the 
town  that  William  Pitkin  should  have  free  liberty  to  teach 
school  in  Hartford."  In  1687  the  town  voted  "  that  they  would 
not  continue  that  order  to  Mr.  Caleb  Watson  that  was  made 
in  '74,  but  that  it  should  be  null,  that  is  to  say  that  order  about 
the  school  at  jQ^o  a  year."  In  1705  Mr.  Watson  was  still 
there,  for  there  was  a  committee  of  five  appointed  and  it  was 
voted  "  that  Mr.  Caleb  Watson  be  no  longer  schoolmaster  for 
the  town,  and  the  committee  above  mentioned  chosen  for  the 
school  are  empowered  to  provide  a  suitable  schoolmaster  to 
manage  that  work  in  convenient  time." 

The  following  notice  was  properly  posted  in  Taunton  : 
"  These  are  to  give  notice  to  all  the  inhabitants  belonging 
to  the  center  part  of  the  school  ground  in  Taunton,  that  they 
meet  at  the  schoolhouse  in  said  Taunton  on  Monday  next, 
the  19th  day  of  June,  instant,  at  four  of  the  clock  in  the 
afternoon,  then  and  there  to  consider  on  and  agree  where 
the  school  shall  be  kept  for  the  next  three  months  and 
where  the  schoolmaster  shall  be  boarded.  This  notification 
is  by  order  of  the  selectmen  of  said  Taunton,  dated  June  1 3th, 
1758.  By  me,  Isaac  Marick."  On  June  19  the  second 
question  was  thus  settled :  "It  was  voted  that  the  said 
schoolmaster  shall  be  boarded  at  the  dwelling  house  of 
Mr.  John  Adams." 

The  selectmen,  upon  whom  devolved  the  duty  of  finding 
schoolmasters,  could  not  always  find  men  who  satisfied  the 
demands  of  the  law,  the  requirements  of  the  ministers,  and  the 
whims  of  the  voters.  Their  task  was  not  an  easy  one,  es- 
pecially when  the  courts  were  threatening  fines  if  the  schools 


98      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

were  not  maintained.  Varied  material  had  to  be  accepted,  doc- 
tors, deacons,  town  clerks,  and  others  being  frequently  pressed 
into  the  service.  Framingham,  in  1706,  voted  "that  deacon 
Hemenway  should  be  our  schoolmaster  the  year  ensuing." 
In  1 7 10  it  voted  "that  deacon  Joshua  Hemenway  shall  be 
schoolmaster  for  to  learn  youth  to  write  hence  forward,  and 
when  he  has  a  mind  to  lay  it  down,  he  will  give  the  town 
timely  notice  to  provide  another  schoolmaster." 

The  physicians  were  often  the  schoolmasters.  The  first 
schoolmaster  recorded  in  Braintree  was  Mr.  Thompson,  who 
had  previously  taught  in  Boston  and  Charlestown.  He  is  also 
supposed  to  have  been  the  first  physician.  "  In  urgent  cases 
he  was  obliged  to  close  his  school  to  attend  to  his  professional 
duties."  This  was  in  1678.  Maiden  had  a  Dr.  Wigglesworth, 
who  as  a  physician  received  sixpence  a  visit,  and  as  a  school- 
master j^i6  I  OS.  for  a  six  months'  engagement.  In  Med- 
field  Dr.  Return  Johnson  was  the  first  physician.  In  1684 
he  was  engaged  to  keep  school  a  month  on  trial,  "  to  continue 
a  year  if  he  likes  and  gives  consent."  He  was  afterwards 
engaged  for  a  year,  with  a  fortnight  in  the  spring  "  to  attend 
to  his  practise  of  physics,"  the  time  to  be  made  up  at  the  end 
of  the  half  year.  If  the  emergencies  of  his  practise  took  him 
away  from  school  at  other  times,  the  time  lost  was  to  be  made 
up  also.  "  Being  much  abroad  out  of  town,"  it  was  found 
that  the  two  occupations  did  not  go  well  together,  and  in  the 
spring  the  bargain  was  canceled  with  his  consent. 

Dr.  Jeremiah  Everett,  the  first  physician  in  Westminster, 
was  paid  £3  14s.  8d.  "  in  full  of  his  account  while  keeping 
school."  Dr.  Thomas  Hastings  was  the  first  teacher  in 
Whately  in  1681,  and  Dr.  Jasper  Gunn  kept  the  first  school 
in  Milford,  Connecticut,  in  166 1.  At  Warren,  Maine,  in 
1759,  an  attempt  was  made  to  maintain  some  form  of  school 
even  during  the  war,  and  it  is  related  that  "  Dr.  Robinson  in 
the  blockhouse  devoted  all  his  leisure  time  and  particularly 
the  Sabbath  to  the  instruction  of  the  children."     Dover, 


THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER  99 

New  Hampshire,  in  1774,  has  this  record :  "By  request  of 
the  selectmen  and  many  people,  Dr.  Green  kept  the  grammar 
school  four  months  in  the  Pine  Hill  schoolhouse."  In  1749 
Chester,  New  Hampshire,  paid  Dr.  Samuel  Moores  one 
hundred  eight  pounds  "  for  schooling."  In  Gilmanton  Dr. 
William  Smith  "  also  instructed  as  from  time  to  time  the 
duties  of  his  profession  permitted."  In  the  accounts  of  the 
selectmen  of  Weare  are  these  items:  In  1772  they  "paid 
to  Dr.  Page  for  taking  the  charge  of  the  grammar  school 
12  shillings,"  and  in  1775  they  "paid  Dr.  Phil  Hoit  for 
keeping  school,  ;^3." 

Boone,  in  his  "  Education  in  the  United  States,"  mentions 
these  duties  of  a  schoolmaster  of  1661  : 

1 .  To  act  as  court  messenger. 

2.  To  serve  summons. 

3.  To  conduct  certain  ceremonial  services  of  the  church. 

4.  To  lead  the  Sunday  choir. 

5 .  To  ring  the  bell  for  public  worship. 
"  6.  To  dig  graves. 
"7.  To  take  charge  of  the  school. 

>.  To  perform  other  occasional  duties." 
While  it  is  doubtful  if  any  one  schoolmaster  performed  all 
these  duties,  it  is  very  evident  that  many  performed  more  than 
one  of  them.  One  great  duty,  however,  is  missing  in  this  list, 
that  of  taking  the  place  of  the  minister  on  Sunday.  New 
England  records  teem  with  this  demand.  Next  to  having  a 
minister  who  would  teach,  was  having  a  teacher  who  could 
preach.  This  custom  extended  over  the  whole  colonial  period. 
John  Fiske,  Salem's  first  schoolmaster,  assisted  in  the  pulpit 
for  over  two  years.  In  1757  Peter  T.  Smith  "kept  school 
and  preached  "  at  Weymouth.  John  Wilson,  Jr.  was  engaged 
in  1685  to  teach  the  school  at  Medfield,  and  "  he  was  given 
leave  to  preach  sometimes  and  take  as  recompense  what 
should  be  given  by  free  contributions.  When  he  should  be 
desired  to  preach,  he  was  to  have  liberty  of  two  days  from 


lOO  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

the  school  in  the  week  before."  The  records  do  not  state 
whether  these  two  days  were  allowed  for  preparation  of  the 
sermon  or  to  acquire  the  proper  spiritual  mood  after  the  trials 
of  the  schoolroom. 

Woburn,  in  1700,  sought  a  grammar  schoolmaster  with 
ability  "  to  assist  occasionally  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fox  in  the  minis- 
try." Farmington,  Connecticut,  in  1683,  wanted  one  of  cer- 
tain scholarly  qualities  and  "  also  to  step  into  the  pulpit  to 
be  helpful  there  in  time  of  emergency."  Ten  years  later 
they  were  looking  for  a  man  "  that  is  in  a  capacity  to  teach 
both  Latin  and  English,  and  in  time  of  exigency  to  be  help- 
ful to  Mr.  Hooker  in  the  ministry."  Guilford  early  named 
three  conditions  in  hiring  a  schoolmaster :  "  He  taking  all 
sorts,  and  that  from  their  A,  B,  C's  ;  secondly,  to  continue  so 
doing  for  three  years  ;  thirdly,  to  be  helpful  in  preaching 
when  required."  Falmouth,  in  1701,  voted  "to  look  out  for 
a  fit  person  to  preach  the  word  of  God  and  to  keep  school." 

John  Branker,  schoolmaster  at  Windsor,  was  also  "  ruling 
elder  in  the  church  ;  sometimes  preached  the  weekly  lecture." 
Hadley,  in  1665,  voted  "to  give  twenty  pounds  per  annum 
for  three  years  towards  the  maintenance  of  a  schoolmaster 
to  teach  the  children  and  to  be  as  a  help  to  Mr.  Russell  as 
occasion  may  require."  Newbury,  in  1693,  voted  "that  Mr. 
John  Clarke  be  called  to  assist  Mr.  Richardson  in  the  work 
of  the  ministry  at  the  west  end  of  the  town,  to  preach  to 
them  one  year  in. order  to  farther  settlement,  and  also  to 
keep  a  grammar  school."  At  Guilford,  in  1646,  Mr.  John 
Higginson  was  the  schoolmaster  and  the  assistant  pastor. 
In  1 7 1 8  Lynn  instructed  the  selectmen  to  employ  a  school- 
master and  to  make  an  agreement  with  him  that  should 
"  have  relation  to  some  help  for  Mr.  Shepard  in  preaching." 
At  Rowley,  according  to  a  record  dated  1721,  the  son  of  the 
minister  "  for  many  years  continued  to  teach  the  town  school, 
assisting  his  father  a  part  of  the  time  to  carry  on  the  work  of 
the  ministry  and  occasionally  supplying  destitute  pulpits  in 


THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER  lOl 

neighboring  towns."  Later  on  another  teacher  seems  to  have 
preached  at  times,  for  in  1726  he  received  of  the  town 
treasurer  "  one  pound  for  preaching  one  Sabbath  day."  At 
Lexington,  in  1728,  the  son  of  the  minister  was  engaged  to 
teach  the  grammar  school ;  afterwards,  "  when  he  was  settled 
as  a  colleague  with  his  father,  it  was  with  the  understanding 
that  he  should  continue  his  school."  Branford,  Connecti- 
cut, in  1729,  voted  "to  hire  as  a  schoolteacher  one  who 
could  also  be  helpful  in  the  ministry  as  occasion  required." 
Portland,  in  1732,  had  in  a  town  warrant:  "To  see  where 
the  school  shall  be  opened  and  kept,  and  to  agree  upon  some 
method  to  pay  the  schoolmaster,  to  see  if  the  town  will  agree 
with  the  schoolmaster  to  preach  the  winter  season  to  the 
people  on  the  Purpooduck  side  of  the  river."  And  so  this 
list  might  be  continued. 

The  colonial  schoolmaster  who  adopted  his  work  as  his 
regular  occupation,  and  not  as  a  stepping-stone  to  the  min- 
istry, was  reasonably  secure  in  his  position.  No  "  tenure  of 
office  law "  was  needed.  The  permanency  of  the  clergy 
probably  affected  the  schoolmaster;  the  limited  supply  of 
good  candidates  and  the  recognition  of  the  personal  influ- 
ence of  long  service  also  weighed  in  his  favor.  While  the 
newer  settlements  found  it  difficult  to  obtain  masters  for 
short  periods  or  had  none  at  all,  the  older  communities  fre- 
quently retained  theirs  for  a  generation  or  more.  The  first 
master  of  the  Cambridge  grammar  school  was  Elijah  Corlett. 
Just  when  he  began  is  a  matter  of  doubt,  but  it  is  known 
that  he  was  there  more  than  forty  years.  In  1643  it  is  said 
that  "  he  had  taught  sufficiently  long  to  have  acquired  a  high 
reputation  for  skill  and  faithfulness,"  and  in  1684  the  town 
voted  him  twenty  pounds  annually  "for  so  long  as  he  con- 
tinues to  be  schoolmaster  in  this  place."  In  17 19  appears 
this  vote  :  "  Whereas,  by  reason  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Nicholas 
Fessenden,  our  late  schoolmaster,  the  school,  in  our  town 
is  in   an  unsettled  condition ;    and   whereas,   Mr.    Samuel 


a 


102  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Danforth,  of  Dorchester,  has  been  pleased  to  manifest  his 
inclinations  to  be  a  schoolmaster  amongst  us,  and  to  devote 
himself  to  that  service ;  voted  and  agreed  that  the  said 
Mr.  Samuel  Danforth  take  the  care  and  charge  of  said  school 
on  the  same  terms  that  our  said  late  schoolmaster  kept  it,  and 
that  he  forthwith  provide  some  suitable  person  to  manage 
said  school  until  such  time  as  he  can  remove  amongst  us 
himself,  which  Mr.  Danforth  promised  to  comply  with." 
He  kept  the  school  for  eleven  years. 

Richard  Norcross  began  to  teach  in  Watertown  in  165 1, 
and  was  the  only  teacher  there  for  twenty  years.  In  1 700  he 
was  still  teaching,  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine.  He  had  been 
the  schoolmaster  for  most  of  the  forty-nine  years  since  he 
first  began,  being  out  of  the  position  only  at  brief  intervals. 
It  was  seven  years  after  Oxford  voted  to  have  a  schoolmaster 
before  the  selectmen  found  one.  Then  Mr.  Richard  Rogers 
was  secured,  and  he  taught  twenty-two  successive  years.  "  He 
was  the  most  accomplished  teacher  of  his  time,  not  only  in 
Latin  and  English,  but  noted  for  his  unrivalled  penmanship." 
John  Lovell  was  master  of  the  Boston  Latin  School  for  forty- 
two  years.  John  Tileston  was  master  of  the  North  Writing 
School  from  1762  to  18 19.  At  the  age  of  eighty-five  "feel- 
ing the  infirmities  of  age  increasing  with  the  decay  of  strength 
natural  to  so  long  and  laborious  a  life,  he  found  it  necessary 
to  resign  and  retire  from  active  service."  In  all,  he  had 
taught  in  Boston  and  elsewhere  some  seventy  years. 

In  1766  the  Boston  selectmen  sent  a  messenger  to  Mr. 
Peleg  Wiswall,  one  of  their  aged  masters,  with  the  request 
"  not  to  expose  his  health  by  attending  school  this  winter, 
and  that  his  salary  shall  be  drawn  for  notwithstanding."  The 
next  year  the  usher  of  the  school  declined  to  stay  longer 
under  existing  conditions,  and  a  committee  of  the  selectmen 
waited  on  the  master.  "  He  said  he  was  sensible  of  the 
difficulties  coming  on  before  his  last  confinement  and  that 
he  had  for  some  weeks  past  thought  it  his  duty  to  let  the 


THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER  103 

selectmen  know  his  infirmities  would  prevent  his  further 
attendance  upon  the  business  of  said  school,  and  after  some 
further  discourse,  resigned  the  place  of  master  of  said  school ; 
adding  that  he  had  spent  his  estate  in  the  town's  service 
and  hoped  they  would  not  let  him  suffer,  to  which  it  was 
replied  by  them,  that  the  disposition  of  the  town  was  such 
that  we  could  not  doubt  he  would  be  provided  for  during 
the  remainder  of  his  days." 

Ezekiel  Cheever,  however,  is  the  well-known,  conspicuous 
example.  His  record  in  brief  is  as  follows.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-three  he  began  teaching  in  New  Haven,  where  he  re- 
mained twelve  years.  Because  of  church  troubles  he  went  to 
Ipswich  and  taught  eleven  years,  ''  making  his  school  famous 
in  all  the  country."  Then  he  taught  in  Charlestown  nine 
years,  and  was  called  to  Boston  in  1670.  He  was  then  fifty- 
six  years  old,  an  age  at  which  the  modern  master  finds  it 
difficult  to  obtain  a  situation.  There  he  remained  thirty-eight 
years.  He  died  in  harness  at  ninety-four,  having  taught  over 
seventy  years. 

Of  Braintree's  schoolmasters,  Mr.  Cleverly  taught  twenty- 
four  years  and  Samuel  Savil  twenty-three  years.  John  Farrin 
taught  in  Brunswick  for  many  years,  and  during  the  stress  of 
1776  he  remitted  some  sixteen  pounds  of  his  salary  "in  con- 
sequence of  the  public  distresses  and  the  burdensome  taxes." 
Deacon  Warfield  taught  in  Mendon  eleven  years.  Peter  Selew 
taught  in  Harwich  from  1 7 1 7  to  1 74 1 ,  how  much  longer  the 
records  do  not  say.  Sandwich  had  two  men,  John  Rogers 
and  Silas  Tupper,  over  twenty-five  years  each.  Mr.  Longfellow 
taught  in  Portland  over  fifteen  years.  For  twenty-two  years 
John  Fowle  was  a  noted  master  in  Woburn.  Josiah  Pierce 
kept  the  grammar  school  in  Hadley  for  twelve  years  and  then 
returned  again  for  another  period  of  six  years.  At  Billerica, 
in  1679,  "  Ensign  Thompson  was  chosen  schoolmaster  to 
teach  such  to  read  and  write  as  shall  come  to  him  to  learn." 
He  was  the  schoolmaster  for  thirty  years.    Rowley,  in  1656, 


I04  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

made  this  agreement :  "  The  town  agreed  with  one  William 
Boynton  to  teach  a  town  school  for  the  term  of  seven  years.  .  . . 
The  church  agreed  to  loan  said  Boynton  the  sum  of  five 
pounds  to  aid  him  in  putting  up  an  end  to  his  house,  on  the 
condition  he  keep  the  school  for  seven  years  as  aforesaid, 
then  the  demand  against  him  for  said  five  pounds  is  to  be 
void,  but  if  he  do  not  so  keep  the  school,  then  he  is  to  pay 
the  church  one  half  the  appraised  value  of  said  end  of  the 
house."  What  other  compensation  he  was  to  have  is  not 
known.    He  kept  the  school  twenty-four  years. 

Generally  towns  were  cautious  in  their  first  elections, 
making  the  terms  short.  For  example,  Dedham,  in  1659, 
invited  a  man  to  come  and  "  to  keep  the  school  for  a  quarter 
of  a  year."  Later  they  elected  another  man  "to  try  for  one 
quarter  of  a  year  how  he  may  suit  with  the  town."  Such  votes 
are  very  common,  but  not  unfrequently  after  trial  and  proof 
reelection  was  for  a  definite  number  of  years.  Bristol,  in  1724, 
proposed  "  to  settle  a  schoolmaster  for  the  term  of  seven 
years."  At  New  London,  in  1698,  "Mr.  Allan  MuUins  was 
engaged  as  the  principal  for  eight  years."  Plymouth,  in  1706, 
appointed  a  committee  of  four  who  "should  agree  with  Mr. 
Josiah  Cotton  to  keep  the  school  in  the  town  as  said  town's 
schoolmaster  during  the  term  of  six  years  ensuing,  he  the  said 
Mr.  Josiah  Cotton  managing  the  said  school  with  that  prudence 
and  industry  that  he  hath  done  the  last  year." 

While  these  and  other  towns  were  enjoying  the  peace  and 
prosperity  of  long  service,  still  others  were  in  the  slough  of 
despondency,  urged  on  the  one  hand  by  the  inexorable  court 
to  provide  a  schoolmaster  according  to  law,  and  checked  on 
the  other  by  the  scarcity  of  material.  This  difficulty  is  clearly 
set  forth  in  the  reply,  already  quoted  [on  page  38],  of  the 
selectmen  of  Andover,  in  17 13,  to  an  indictment  for  not 
having  a  school. 

As  evidence  of  this  shortage  the  following  accounts  through 
a  series  of  years  are  conclusive.   At  New  Haven,  in  1652, 


THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER  105 

Governor  Eaton  was  very  much  interested  in  the  school  and 
called  a  meeting  of  the  court  to  cofisider  the  question  of  a 
master :  "  The  Governor  informed  the  court  that  the  cause 
of  calling  this  meeting  is  about  a  schoolmaster,  to  let  them 
know  what  he  hath  done  in  it.  He  hath  written  a  letter  to 
one  Mr.  Brown  who  is  schoolmaster  at  Plymouth  and  desires 
to  come  to  these  parts  to  live,  and  another  letter  about  one 
Rev.  Mr.  Landson,  a  scholar,  who  he  hears  will  take  that 
employment  upon  him ;  how  they  will  succeed  he  knows  not, 
but  now  Mr.  Janes  is  come  to  the  town  and  is  willing  to  come 
hither  again  if  he  may  have  encouragement.  What  course 
had  been  taken  to  get  one,  he  was  acquainted  with,  and  if 
either  of  them  came,  he  must  be  entertained,  but  he  said  if 
another  came,  he  should  be  willing  to  teach  boys  and  girls  to 
read  and  write,  if  the  town  thought  fit,  and  Mr.  Janes  being 
now  present,  confirmed  it." 

Windsor,  Connecticut,  in  1676,  had  no  schoolmaster,  though 
"  the  town  voted  they  are  willing  there  shall  a  schoolmaster 
be  got  and  the  townsmen  were  to  get  one,  and  the  children 
to  pay  as  to  Mr.  C.  and  the  rest  by  the  town," 

Watertown  had  Harvard  graduates  during  all  the  early 
1700's,  and  yet  they  reached  a  year  when  the  committee 
reported  to  the  selectmen  '"  that  they  have  been  with  the 
president  of  the  college  and  he  informs  them  they  cannot 
have  any  there  that  will  keep  school." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  selectmen  in  Dorchester,  in  1681, 
"  Ensign  Hale  was  desired  and  appointed  to  enquire  after  a 
schoolmaster  who,  some  say,  there  may  be  one  at  Bridge- 
water."  At  Norfolk,  Connecticut,  in  1701,  it  was  "voted 
and  agreed  by  the  town  that  they  would  have  a  schoolmaster 
for  the  next  year  ensuing,  in  case  he  can  be  obtained." 

Portsmouth,  in  1701,  "at  a  meeting  of  the  selectmen  and 
committee  appointed  by  the  town  to  take  care  for  the  pro- 
viding of  an  able  schoolmaster,  so  qualified  in  learning  and 
good  manners  as  to  teach  our  youth  in  reading,  writing  and 


lo6  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

cyphering,  the  tongues  and  other  learning  as  may  fit  them 
for  the  college,  .  .  .  then  also  agreed  that  we  request  the 
Hon.  the  Lieut.  Gov.  Pattridge  and  Mr.  George  Jeffrey  to 
use  their  best  endeavors  in  enquiring  out  and  procuring  such 
fit  person  and  send  him  forthwith  amongst  us,  in  order  to  his 
further  settlement."  Later  in  the  year,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
selectmen  and  committee  for  the  settling  of  the  schoolmaster, 
it  was  voted,  "whereas  Mr.  Daniel  Greenleaf  of  Newbury 
has  been  with  us  in  order  to  a  settlement  as  a  schoolmaster, 
and  is  at  present  at  Newbury,  that  we  do  forthwith  send  to 
him  to  have  his  answer  in  coming  amongst  us,  in  order  to  a 
settlement,  that  we  allow  him  jC40  per  annum  while  he  abides 
amongst  us,  in  case  he  comes  and  duly  performs  his  oflfice  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  town.  .  .  .  Mr.  Greenleaf  being  come 
and  present  with  us,  we  have  agreed  with  him  to  allow  him 
jC40  per  annum  while  he  continues  with  and  faithfully  per- 
forms the  office  of  a  schoolmaster,  and  he  likewise  doth 
promise  and  engage  to  continue  with  us  this  year  for  the 
above  consideration  and  so  teach  all  town  children  and  serv- 
ants as  are  able  competently  to  read  from  their  Psalters." 
But  they  were  soon  in  difficulty  again  and  engaged  another 
man  "  diligently  to  attend  the  school  for  the  present  year." 

At  Framingham,  in  1718,  a  committee  reported  '"  that  they 
have  used  their  utmost  diligence  but  can  find  no  master  to  be 
had  as  yet."  At  Woburn  a  committee  spent  six  weeks — go- 
ing to  both  Boston  and  Cambridge  twice  —  before  finding  a 
master ;  then  they  found  one  who  would  come  for  six  months 
for  "  j^i2  and  his  board  found  him  free  by  the  town." 

Northampton  had  the  same  difficulty,  and  their  schools 
were  not  kept  every  year.  Finally,  in  1 76 1 ,  they  voted : 
"  The  town,  considering  of  the  great  want  of  a  schoolmaster 
for  the  instructing  of  children  and  youth,  have  for  that  end 
appointed  Mr.  Solomon  Stoddard  and  Elder  Strong  to  treat 
with  Mr.  Watson  to  see  whether  he  may  be  attained  to  come 
and  settle  among  us  for  to  carry  on  a  school,  and  if  there  be 


THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER  107 

likelihood  of  attaining  him,  then  to  make  report  to  the  town 
on  what  terms  he  may  be  procured."  But  the  mission  was 
unsuccessful,  and  later  in  the  year  the  town  again  voted  "  to 
give  a  schoolmaster  ;!^30  a  year  provided  that  one  can  be  pro- 
cured fit  for  such  an  employment,  that  is  to  say,  that  shall  be 
able  and  fit  to  teach  and  instruct  children  and  youths  to  read 
English,  and  to  write  and  cast  accounts  at  least." 

Because  of  this  scarcity  towns  frequently  resorted  to  what 
might  be  called  emergency  schoolmasters ;  it  was  a  case  of 
taking  what  could  be  had.  In  1663  Dedham  made  this 
record  :  "  In  consideration  of  the  present  want  of  a  school- 
master and  of  the  weakly  estate  of  our  brother  Joseph  Ellice, 
he  being  willing  and  we  being  hopeful  he  may  do  some  good 
in  teaching  some  children  to  read  English  for  the  present, 
and  until  one  more  able  can  be  attained,  do  agree  and  order 
that  forthwith  notice  be  given  that  he  shall  begin  to  teach 
at  the  schoolhouse  the  next  second  day,  and  that  he  shall 
have  six  shillings  per  week  so  long  as  he  shall  so  teach." 

Maiden,  in  1697,  chose  one  John  Moulton  as  school- 
master. He  was  sixty-six  years  old,  had  spent  all  his  life 
at  sea,  and  had  never  taught  a  day.  "His  recommenda- 
tion as  a  teacher  may  have  been  the  acquirements  which  a 
mariner  had  gained  in  trade  and  navigation,  or  the  avail- 
ability of  an  old  man  with  little  or  nothing  to  do."  A  few 
years  later  they  employed  a  weaver,  and  still  later  a  shoe- 
maker of  natural  ability  but  limited  education,  who  had  to 
take  lessons  of  the  minister  before  he  could  assume  the 
duties  of  his  office.  It  is  said  of  him  :  "  Had  a  kind  Provi- 
dence given  him  health,  a  shoemaker  he  might  have  re- 
mained to  the  end.  But  he  appears  to  have  possessed  a 
feeble  constitution  and  to  have  been  troubled  by  many  ills ; 
and  the  selectmen,  vexed  and  perplexed  as  they  seem  to  have 
been  by  their  annual  duty  of  providing  a  schoolmaster,  and 
thinking,  perhaps,  that  a  sick  shoemaker  might  make  a  pass- 
able teacher,  prevailed  upon  him  to  leave  the  lapstone  and 


io8  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

the  awl,  and  enter  upon  a  course  of  study  with  Mr.  Emerson. 
Graduating  from  the  parsonage  after  a  few  months,  with  a 
sHght  knowledge  of  the  languages,  it  is  said,  and  a  sufficient 
mastery  of  the  mysteries  of  the  three  R's  to  enable  him  to 
obtain  the  approbation  of  several  neighboring  clergymen,  he 
took  up  the  rod,  which  he  wielded  with  a  zeal  that  tradition 
asserts  was  not  always  tempered  by  discretion.  He  is  said 
to  have  been  a  worthy  teacher  ;  but  his  worth  seems  to  have 
been  gauged  by  his  piety  rather  than  his  ability  to  teach." 
Yet  this  man  taught  twenty-five  years  and  gave  permanency 
and  spirit  to  the  school. 

New  Haven,  after  losing  Mr.  Cheever,  maintained  her 
school  intermittently.  At  one  time  a  George  Pardee  was 
engaged  "to  teach  English  and  writing,  and  to  carry  the 
scholars  in  Latin  as  far  as  he  could,"  and  Mr.  Pardee  re- 
marked that  this  would  be  "  a  very  short  distance  indeed." 

Northampton  was  obliged  to  hire  one  James  Cornish,  a 
man  of  good  attainments,  probably,  but  of  one  bad  habit  — 
profanity.  He  was  fined  twice,  and  the  court  on  the  second 
offense  "  highly  resented  that  such  an  aged  man  and  of  his 
quality  and  profession  should  so  dishonor  God  and  give  such 
evil  example  to  youth  and  others." 

Brookline,  in  171 1,  agreed  "with  John  Winchester,  Jr., 
for  his  man  Ed  Ruggles,  to  keep  school  at  the  new  school- 
house  two  months."  In  1763  Chester,  New  Hampshire, 
had  a  Mr.  Herring  as  schoolmaster ;  two  years  later  it  is 
recorded  :  "  Henry  Herring,  the  former  master,  has  become 
a  pauper  and  warned  out  of  town."  In  1732  the  selectmen 
of  Ipswich  appointed  Henry  Spiller  "  to  keep  a  school  for 
teaching  in  reading,  writing  and  cyphering ;  the  town  having 
allowed  him  the  use  of  the  room  at  the  southeasterly  end  of 
the  almshouse  for  that  service."  The  next  year  he  was  "  on 
the  town,"  but  "  at  a  meeting  of  the  selectmen  April  8,  1734, 
Henry  Spiller  is  allowed  and  approbated  to  set  up  a  school 
in  the  town  of  Ipswich  for  teaching  and  instructing  children 


THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER  109 

or  youth  in  reading  or  writing,  he  being  a  person  of  sober 
and  good  conversation.  The  selectmen  do  not  promise  him 
any  encouragement  for  his  services  herein,  other  than  that 
the  parents  or  masters  of  the  children  he  shall  instruct  are 
willing  to  give  him  themselves." 

About  1782  Esquire  Stiles  of  Temple,  New  Hampshire, 
speaking  of  the  first  school  he  attended,  said  it  was  kept  i 
"by  a  Mr,  Hibbs,  who  was  old  and  slow.  It  was  then  the  \\ 
custom  to  employ  those  for  teachers  who  were  in  the  most 
need  of  support ;  if  they  could  read  a  chapter  in  the  Testa- 
ment, teach  the  Shorter  Catechism,  and  whip  the  boys,  they 
were  sufficiently  qualified." 

Braintree,  in  1725,  engaged  a  master  for  the  year,  reserv- 
ing the  privilege  of  "  hiring  Jonathan  Neal  in  his  stead  for 
six  months  of  the  time." 

The  first  teacher  at  Francestown,  New  Hampshire,  was  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Burke,  whom  "  tradition  credits  with  a 
rather  free  use  of  cider  and  rum."  In  Antrim,  there  is  this 
account  of  the  first  schoolmaster  and  Deacon  Aiken  :  Early 
in  1700,  at  the  time  of  a  great  freshet,  "a  stranger  knocked 
at  the  deacon's  door  one  evening,  and  offered  to  work  in  his 
service  for  his  board.  He  gave  his  name  as  George  Beman, 
was  a  foreigner,  born  on  the  seas,  of  middle  age,  a  deserter 
from  the  British  at  Boston ;  had  followed  marked  trees  and 
swam  the  streams  in  search  of  a  place  of  concealment.  Next 
morning  he  took  up  a  Bible,  remarking  that  he  had  scarce 
seen  a  good  book  for  forty  years,  and  would  try  himself  at 
reading.  He  proved  to  be  a  good  reader,  resided  in  the  family 
some  years,  and  made  himself  useful  by  laboring  on  the  farm 
and  teaching  the  children." 

In  Warren,  Maine,  from  1700  to  1775,  there  were  neigh- 
borhood schools  and  teachers  seemingly.  "  Dr.  Fales  was  a 
competent  instructor  for  those  in  his  neighborhood,  and 
others  of  more  slender  acquirements  were  occasionally  em- 
ployed in  other  places.    Some  invalid  unable  to  labor,  some 


no     EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

widow  or  single  woman  not  otherwise  employed,  were  all  the 
settlers  had  the  means  to  compensate.  Among  these  was 
Bartholomew  Killeran  of  the  lower  town,  who  was  altogether 
helpless  from  a  paralytic  affection  of  his  lower  limbs.  He 
taught  school  in  various  places  and  amongst  others  at  the 
house  of  Moses  Copelands,  for  the  children  of  that  neighbor- 
hood. He  was  highly  esteemed  for  his  amiable  disposition, 
and  not  the  less  so,  that  in  place  of  the  birch  and  ferule, 
he  was  obliged  to  make  use  of  loaf  sugar  to  stimulate  and 
encourage  his  pupils."  After  the  Revolution  their  teacher 
was  John  O'Brien,  a  ship's  steward  captured  off  Marblehead 
and  taken  to  Boston,  "  Thence  on  an  exchange  of  prisoners, 
he  was  sent  to  Castine  and  allowed  by  the  captain  to  escape 
to  Fox  Islands,  whence  after  teaching  there  two  months,  he 
came  to  this  town.  He  was  an  elegant  penman  and  a  good 
accountant,  but  somewhat  severe  in  the  management  of  his 
scholars.  He  was  employed  in  different  parts  of  the  town 
for  many  succeeding  years." 

Other  Maine  towns  had  to  resort  to  similar  masters. 
Thomaston,  in  1778,  has  a  history  very  like  Warren: 
"  What  schools  there  were,  now  as  before  the  incorpora- 
tion, were  got  up  by  private  individuals  at  their  own  expense. 
Dr.  Fales,  from  his  first  arrival,  had  taught  more  or  less  in 
the  old  fort  or  his  own  house.  Other  persons,  mostly  tran- 
sient, taught  in  different  neighborhoods  for  short  periods. 
Among  these  was  one  who  for  many  years  continued  to 
exercise  in  this  and  neighboring  regions  a  considerable  in- 
fluence in  education  and  literature.  This  was  John  Sullivan, 
a  native  of  Dublin,  Ireland,  who  after  an  indefinite  period 
spent  in  teaching  and  shoemaking  between  here  and  Penn- 
sylvania, found  his  way  to  this  place  in  a  somewhat  dilapi- 
dated condition,  to  which  one  of  his  habitual  intervals  of 
intemperance  had  reduced  him.  Landing  from  a  coaster  at 
Wessaweskeag,  in  company  with  one  other  passenger  of  more 
respectable  appearance,  and  calling  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Snow 


THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER  1 1 1 

as  the  principal  one  in  the  place  and  usually  resorted  to  by 
strangers,  he  saw  his  companion  invited  to  a  seat  at  dinner, 
whilst  he,  from  his  shabby  costume  together  with  his  queer  and 
ambiguous  countenance,  was  left  behind  to  wait  for  the  second 
table.  After  they  had  dined  he  enquired  of  Mr.  Snow  if 
he  knew  any  one  wishing  to  employ  a  shoemaker,  but  was 
answered  in  the  negative.  On  asking  if  there  were  any 
other  business  in  which  he  could  get  employment,  he  was 
told  there  was  none  except  that  of  a  schoolmaster,  which 
was  then  greatly  needed.  Sullivan  observed  that  he  himself 
had  sometimes  been  employed  as  a  teacher.  '  If  you  can 
satisfy  me  of  your  qualifications,'  said  Snow,  '  I  can  get  you 
employment.'  Sullivan  offered  to  submit  to  any  examination. 
'Well  then,'  said  Snow,  'let  me  ask  you  one  question. 
What  is  the  ground  of  justification  ? '  '  Satisfaction  for  the 
offence,'  said  Sullivan.  '  Right,  right,'  said  the  host,  '  that 
is  sufficient ;  go  and  get  some  dinner.'  "  Sullivan  became 
the  schoolmaster. 

Portland,  in  1761,  has  this  record:  "Things  remain  in  a 
dismal  situation  about  the  schoolmaster,  Richmond,  a  very 
worthless  fellow,  by  means  of  which  the  peace  of  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  Neck  is  broken  up  and  dreadful  quarrellings 
occasioned.    The  old  selectmen  sent  him  out  of  town  but  he 

returned  and  kept  school  at ."   In  an  old  memorandum 

book  of  Enoch  Freeman,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  is  this  item  : 
"John  Montague  Richmond  of  Falmouth,  yeoman,  in  ^i^^io, 
Alexander  Ross,  merchant,  and  Nathaniel  Coffin,  physician, 
as  sureties,  each  in  ^^5,  that  said  Richmond  shall  appear  at 
the  General  Session  to  be  held  at  said  Falmouth  the  first 
Tuesday  of  September  next,  to  answer  his  being  presented 
for  getting  up  and  keeping  school  in  said  Falmouth  without 
the  approbation  of  the  selectmen." 

The  following  application  shows  a  degree  of  education  be- 
yond what  most  of  the  Maine  towns  had  been  able  to  secure. 
There  is  no  date  and  no  recorded  result,  but  the  application 


112  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

for  the  schoolmaster's  lot  proves  it  to  belong  to  an  early  period. 
**  To  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  St.  Georges,  Gentlemen ; 
permit  me  to  address  you  with  a  few  lines  at  your  public 
meeting.  If  we  seriously  reflect  on  the  various  advantages 
resulting  from  education,  we  shall  unanimously  conclude 
that  the  knowledge  of  letters  is  one  of  the  greatest  blessings 
that  the  divine  Majesty  of  Heaven  has  bestowed  upon  the 
children  of  men.'  Learning  furnishes  us  with  uncommon 
preternatural  endowments  of  the  mind,  and  leads  us  to  full 
observation  of  every  decent  regulation  of  the  human  life. 
It  illuminates  our  natural  faculties  to  discern  the  source  or 
origin  of  action,  which  compels  or  induces  us  to  act  accord- 
ing to  our  duty  to  God  and  man.  Finally,  it  is  an  estate 
that  no  outward  violence  or  arbitrary  power  can  interrupt 
or  take  away  from  us.  In  consequence  of  so  many  advan- 
tages, it  is  a  duty  incumbent  on  every  parent  to  cultivate 
their  children  in  literature,  and  initiate  them  into  knowledge 
of  the  secret  writings  that  they  may  have  an  early  taste  of 
the  beauty  and  excellency  of  them. 

"  Therefore,  gentlemen,  in  hopes  of  your  general  approba- 
tion, I  am  encouraged  to  offer  my  services  in  scholastic 
tuition,  that  I  may  have  the  honor  to  instruct  your  youth. 
Should  I  be  so  happy  as  to  merit  your  esteem,  it  would  give 
me  the  greatest  pleasure.  I  would  also  most  humbly  apply 
to  you  for  the  schoolmaster's  lot  in  your  town,  which,  if  you 
grant,  will  oblige  me  to  make  the  most  grateful  acknowledge- 
ments. I  shall  leave  it  to  your  wise  determination  and  wish 
you  success  in  all  your  annual  proceedings,  whilst  I  remain 
your  sincere  friend  and  humble  servant."  This  piece  of 
eloquence  bore  the  signature  of  Michael  Ryan. 

These  men  received  small  salaries  and  because  of  that  fre- 
quently joined  other  occupations  with  that  of  "keeping  school." 
Most  of  them  were  farmers  on  a  small  scale  ;  in  addition 
they  did  many  odd  things,  some  in  keeping  with  the  school 
work  and  others  at  great  variance  with  it. 


THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER  113 

Richard  Norcross,  whom  I  have  mentioned  before,  besides 
his  salary  of  thirty  pounds,  was  "  allowed  two  shillings  a  head 
for  keeping  the  dry  herd."  Weeden,  commenting  on  this 
combination,  remarks  :  "He  wet-nursed  the  brains  of  the 
children  and  dry-nursed  the  bodies  of  the  cattle."  Roger 
Sherman,  a  Milton  schoolmaster  of  1 738-1 740,  was  a  "cord- 
wainer  "  and  made  periodic  trips  through  the  town,  stopping 
at  each  house  long  enough  "  to  make  and  mend  the  shoes  of 
the  family."  William  Turpin,  the  first  schoolmaster  of  Provi- 
dence, kept  an  ordinary,  or  house  of  public  entertainment. 
Samuel  Corbett,  who  was  master  at  Bristol  for  nine  years, 
was  also  rater  of  estates  and  grand  juryman.  At  Windsor, 
in  1679,  "  the  town  voted  Capt.  Clark  to  keep  school  in 
Windsor  for  a  year,  six  months  on  each  side  of  the  Rivulet, 
and  he  engaged  also  to  attend  to  the  town's  business  in  writ- 
ing out  rates,  lists  &c,  for  all  of  which  he  was  allowed  ;£^40." 
At  Woburn,  in  1689,  the  grammar  master  was  also  engaged 
"  to  record  the  selectmen's  acts  about  town  affairs,  to  be  re- 
corder or  town  clerk."  Dedham,  in  1787,  had  a  master  who 
taught  for  three  dollars  a  month,  prosecuted  his  own  studies, 
and  improved  "  his  hours  of  relaxation  by  making  bird  cages 
which  he  turned  to  some  pecuniary  account."  Many  of  the 
Dover  masters  added  surveying  to  teaching.  Daniel  Rogers, 
who  was  master  in  Ipswich  from  1687  to  171 5,  has  this  said 
of  him  :  "  Besides  being  master  of  this  school,  he  held  the 
office  of  town  clerk  and  register  of  probate  for  many  years ; 
but  regard  for  the  truth  of  history  obliges  me  to  add,  he  is 
entitled  to  the  unenviable  distinction  of  being  the  worst  scribe 
that  ever  had  the  custody  of  our  records.  He  was  careless, 
incorrect,  and  his  handwriting  is  frequently  illegible." 

A  very  common  addition  to  the  master's  duties  was  '"  to 
sweep  the  meetinghouse  and  ring  the  bell."  Soon  after  1650 
Weymouth's  schoolmaster  was  William  Chard,  who  was  also 
town  clerk  and  attended  to  the  drawing  up  of  such  legal  papers 
as  the  people  needed.    In  1669  he  was  also  sexton  and  seems 


w 


114  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

to  have  kept  this  dual  position  until  1687,  when  he  was  voted 
out  of  school,  but  it  was  added,  "  He  is  at  liberty  to  use 
the  dwelling  and  schoolhouse  until  next  March  meeting,  for 
which  he  is  to  ring  the  bell  and  sweep  the  meetinghouse." 
Topsfield,  in  1693,  voted,  "  The  town  have  agreed  that  Good- 
man Lovewell,  schoolmaster,  shall  live  in  the  parsonage  house 
this  year  ensuing,  to  keep  school  and  sweep  the  meeting- 
house." Mr.  Boynton  taught  the  school  in  Rowley  for  twenty- 
four  years  :  "  During  a  portion  of  the  time  and  perhaps  all 
the  time  he  taught  the  school,  he  had  the  care  of  ringing 
the  meetinghouse  bell  and  of  sweeping  the  meetinghouse. 
For  this  service  he  usually  received  ;^2-io  per  annum."  In 
171 3  Wenham  made  an  agreement  with  William  Rogers  "  to 
keep  school  in  our  town  to  teach  the  youth  to  read  and  write, 
and  to  sweep  the  meetinghouse  and  ring  the  bell  for  the  year, 
and  we  do  allow  him  55  shillings  for  his  allowance."  Such 
votes  are  quite  general. 

Towns  as  far  as  possible  obtained  the  best  masters  avail- 
able, and  some,  like  Braintree,  can  show  an  almost  unbroken 
line  of  Harvard  graduates  in  these  early  years.  Plymouth,  in 
the  hundred  years  from  1671  to  1771,  had  twenty-eight 
schoolmasters ;  all  but  two  were  graduates  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege. The  pay  was  small,  for  towns  heavily  burdened  in  every 
way  could  not  afford  to  be  liberal.  Frequently  it  was  voted 
that  the  selectmen  should  procure  a  schoolmaster  "  as  cheap 
as  they  can,"  though  few  towns  added  the  restriction  Hing- 
ham  did  in  1690,  "  Provided  they  shall  hire  a  single  man 
and  not  a  man  that  have  a  family." 

Though  poorly  paid  the  master  held  an  honored  place  in 
the  community,  second  only  to  the  minister.  This  social 
position  was  assured,  and  it  was  frequently  emphasized  by  a 
choice  allotment  in  the  church  seating.  Encouragement  was 
often  extended  by  exemption  from  military  duties,  remission 
of  taxes,  or  assignment  of  town  lands.  In  1721  Walling- 
ford  "  gave  Mr.  Bates,  the  schoolmaster,  liberty  to  sit  in  the 


THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER  115 

first  pew  in  the  front  gallery  of  the  new  meetinghouse." 
With  reference  to  the  respect  paid  to  the  master  of  another 
Connecticut  town  is  this  :  "And  as  evidence  of  this  respect, 
it  may  be  mentioned  that  in  the  bill  for  fitting  up  the  first 
meetinghouse  in  Windsor  there  is  a  separate  item  for  wain- 
scoting and  elevating  pews,  to  be  occupied  by  the  magistrates, 
the  deacon's  family,  and  the  schoolmaster."  In  Salem,  "  to 
show  proper  respect  to  the  schoolmaster  in  placing  the  fam- 
ilies in  the  meetinghouse,  the  wife  of  the  grammar  school- 
master was  to  be  accommodated  in  the  pew  next  to  the  wives 
of  the  magistrates." 

The  schoolmaster  had  local  dignity,  especially  if  he  were  a 
^  college  graduate ;  "  sir  "  was  his  usual  title  under  that  con- 
dition. Many  records  are  found  in  which  "  Sir"  is  prefixed 
to  the  surname  and  the  first  name  omitted,  as,  for  example, 
"  Sir  Fox."  In  1741  schoolmasters  were  exempt  from  mili- 
tary duty  in  Connecticut.  They  had  been  exempt  from  some 
assessments,  but  in  1702  this  was  passed:  "Ordered,  that 
all  assistant  justices  of  the  peace,  surgeons,  physicians,  and 
schoolmasters,  shall  be  rated  in  the  minister's  rate  as  other 
persons  in  their  respective  towns  and  societies  to  which  they 
belong,  any  law  or  custom  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding," 

In  making  engagements  with  the  schoolmasters  towns 
generally  drew  up  concise  agreements,  including  what  the 
masters  were  to  do  and  the  compensation  to  be  paid ;  these 
were  ratified  in  open  town  meeting  or  left  to  the  discretion 
of  the  selectmen.  Much  information  is  to  be  found  in  these 
agreements,  both  as  to  the  requirements  of  the  schools  and 
the  salaries  paid  ;  for  this  reason,  I  quote  several  of  them. 

In  1668,  in  the  records  of  Roxbury,  the  schoolmaster, 
John  Prudden  "  doth  promise  and  engage  to  use  his  best 
skill  and  endeavors,  both  by  precept  and  example,  to  instruct 
in  all  scholastical,  moral,  and  theological  discipline,  the  chil- 
dren, so  far  as  they  are  or  shall  be  capable,  of  those  per- 
sons whose  names  are  here  underwritten,  all  A-B-C-Darians 


Ii6  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

excepted."  The  feoffees  "do  promise  and  engage,  for  the  due 
recompense  of  his  labor,  to  allow  the  said  John  Prudden  the 
full  and  just  sum  of  twenty-five  pounds  :  the  one  half  to  be 
paid  on  the  29th  of  September  next  ensuing  the  date  hereof, 
and  the  other  half  on  the  25th  of  March  next  ensuing,  i.e. 
in  the  year  '70,  the  said  twenty-five  pounds  to  be  paid  by 
William  Park  and  Robert  Williams,  their  heirs  and  adminis- 
trators, at  the  upper  mills  in  Roxbury,  three  quarters  in  Indian 
corn  or  pease,  and  the  other  fourth  part  in  barley,  all  good 
and  merchantable,  at  price  current  in  the  country  rate  at  the 
day  of  payment.  ...  It  is  also  further  added,  by  agreement, 
for  the  encouragement  of  the  said  John  Prudden  in  the  said 
employment,  that  if  any  person  or  persons  in  the  town  of 
Roxbury  shall  for  like  ends  desire  and  upon  like  grounds 
with  those  above  mentioned  see  meet  to  add  their  names  to 
this  writing,  they  shall  enjoy  like  privileges  with  those  whose 
names  are  above  written,  provided  that  whatsoever  they  shall 
give  in  that  way,  shall  be  an  addition  to  the  twenty-five  pounds 
and  to  be  paid  with  it  as  aforesaid." 

Charlestown,  in  1671,  in  its  agreement  with  Benjamin 
Thompson,  made  these  stipulations:  "  i.  That  he  shall  be 
paid  jCso  per  annum  by  the  town,  and  to  receive  20  shil- 
lings a  year  from  each  particular  scholar  that  he  shall  teach, 
to  be  paid  him  by  those  who  send  children  to  him  to  school. 
2.  That  he  shall  prepare  such  youths  as  are  capable  of  it  for 
the  college  with  learning  answerable.  3.  That  he  shall 
teach  to  read,  write  and  cypher.  4.  That  there  shall  be  half 
a  year's  warning  given  mutually  by  him  and  the  town  before 
any  change  or  remove  on  either  side." 

Several  interesting  agreements  are  found  in  the  records  of 
Dedham.  In  1653  the  selectmen  "agreed  with  Jacob  Farrow 
to  keep  the  school,  to  begin  28th  of  first  month,  1653,  to 
have  jC20  per  annum  to  be  paid  in  town  pay,  being  mer- 
chantable, at  the  end  of  each  half  year  the  one  half  of  the 
said  sum  ;  he  undertakes  to  teach  to  read  English  and  the 


THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER  117 

'Accidence,'  and  to  write,  and  the  knowledge  and  art  of 
arithmetic,  and  the  rules  and  practice  thereof :  this  to  be 
proposed  to  the  town." 

In  1658  the  selectmen  "'  being  met  to  agree  with  Michael 
Metcalf  for  keeping  school :  It  is  agreed  mutually  that  the 
said  Michael  shall  attend  the  keeping  of  the  school  in  our 
town  at  the  schoolhouse  the  ensuing  year  or  so  long  as  God 
shall  enable  him,  and  teach  such  male  children  as  shall  be 
sent  to  him  by  any  inhabitant  to  read  and  write  English,  pro- 
vided that  if  any  inhabitant  shall  take  any  child  or  children 
to  that  end  to  send  them  to  school,  it  shall  be  at  liberty  of 
the  schoolmaster  to  refuse  such,  except  they  agree  with  him 
to  his  satisfaction,  and  further  it  is  mutually  agreed  that 
if  the  weather  be  extreme  and  unfit  to  travel,  then  he  shall 
keep  the  school  at  his  own  house  till  the  season  be  more 
temperate. 

"In  consideration  whereof,  we,  the  selectmen  above  named, 
do  agree  that  he  shall  receive  ;£20  sterling,  the  one  half  in 
wheat  and  the  other  half  in  Indian  or  rye,  all  being  merchant- 
able, at  the  end  of  each  half  year  ten  pounds,  that  is  five 
pounds  in  wheat  and  five  pounds  in  other  corn,  the  wheat  at 
the  baker's  current  price  in  Dedham,  other  corn  as  it  go  cur- 
rent from  man  to  man,  and  in  case  of  doubtfulness  of  price 
the  selectmen  shall  settle  the  price  at  the  end  of  each  half 
year :  the  corn  is  to  be  delivered  at  the  house  of  Michael 
Metcalf.  And  it  is  further  agreed  that  he  shall  be  required 
no  more  highway  work  but  only  one  day's  work  of  one  man 
and  a  team,  and  one  day  more  of  a  man.  And  no  advantage 
shall  be  taken  to  discount  for  not  attending  the  school  except 
it  be  discontinued  a  full  week  together." 

In  1660  it  was  "agreed  with  Thomas  Maritt  to  keep  the 
school  in  this  town  for  half  a  year,  to  teach  all  such  children 
as  shall  be  sent  to  him,  to  write  and  read,  so  far  as  God  shall 
enable  him,  with  all  diligence,  and  for  the  same  he  is  to  have 
the  full  sum  of  ten  pounds.  . .  .  And  if  the  said  Thomas  shall 


Ii8  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

omit  keeping  of  the  school  upon  any  occasion  one  whole 
week,  he  shall  be  accountable  for  it,  but  if  upon  occasion  he 
omit  two  or  three  days  in  a  week  so  that  he  keep  part  of  the 
week,  there  is  nothing  required  of  him  for  it." 

In  1 66 1  a  new  agreement  was  made  with  Michael  Metcalf  : 
"  Agreed  with  Michael  Metcalf  to  keep  the  school  so  long 
time  as  God  shall  enable  him  for  seven  shillings  eight  pence 
a  week,  the  school  to  be  kept  in  the  parlor  of  the  dwelling 
house  sometimes  Frances  Chickering's,  deceased,  to  teach  the 
male  children  that  shall  be  sent  to  him  by  the  inhabitants ; 
the  said  Michael  do  engage  to  teach  them  to  read  and  to  write 
English  as  they  shall  be  capable.  .  .  .  Also  inhabitants  take 
no  children  from  other  towns  to  put  them  to  school ;  if  any  do 
so,  they  shall  agree  with  the  schoolmaster." 

Hingham,  1670:  "This  memorandum  is  to  certify  those 
whom  it  may  concern,  that  the  selectmen  of  Hingham  have 
indented  Henry  Smith  as  followeth  :  The  said  Henry  Smjth 
engageth  that  with  care  and  diligence  he  will  teach  and  instruct 
until  a  year  be  expired  in  Latin,  Greek,  and  English,  in 
writing  and  arithmetic,  such  youths  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Hingham  as  shall  for  the  forementioned  sciences  be  sent  into 
their  school.  And  the  said  selectmen  whose  names  are  sub- 
scribed do  on  the  behalf  of  the  town  of  Hingham  promise 
and  engage  that  the  foresaid  Henry  Smith  for  his  encourage- 
ment and  pains  shall  have  JC24  proportionally  paid  him  at  the 
end  of  each  quarter  of  the  foresaid  annual  term,  in  good 
merchantable  corn  at  price  current.  The  species  are  wheat,  rye, 
barley,  pease,  and  Indian,  whereof  a  third  or  second  is  to  be 
Indian  corn.  The  foresaid  year  is  to  begin  on  the  first  of 
February,  1670,  and  to  end  on  the  last  of  January,  1671. 
The  said  Henry  Smith  is  to  have  a  fortnight  time  allowed  him 
for  a  journey  out  of  the  year  above  said." 

Hampton,  New  Hampshire,  1649 :  "  The  selectmen  of  this 
town  of  Hampton  have  agreed  with  John  Legat  for  this  pres- 
ent year  ensuing,  to  teach  and  instruct  all  the  children  of  or 


THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER  119 

belonging  to  our  town,  botli_male  and  female,  which  are 
capable  of  learning,  to  write,  read,  and  cast  accounts,  if  it  be  ' 
desired,  as  diligently  and  as  carefully  as  he  is  able  to  teach  and 
instruct  them  :  and  so  diligently  to  follow  the  said  employ- 
ment at  all  such  time  and  times  this  year  ensuing  as  the 
weather  shall  be  fitting  for  the  youth  to  come  together  to  one 
place  to  be  instructed ;  and  also  to  teach  and  instruct  them 
once  in  a  week  or  more  in  some  orthodox  catechism  provided 
for  them  by  their  parents  or  masters  ;  and  in  consideration 
hereof  we  have  agreed  to  pay  or  cause  to  be  paid  unto  the 
said  John  Legat  the  sum  of  ;^20  in  corn  and  cattle  and 
butter,  at  price  current,  as  payments  are  made  of  such  goods 
in  this  town,  and  this  to  be  paid  by  us  quarterly,  payments 
jCS  every  quarter  after  he  has  begun  to  keep  school." 

Haverhill,  in  1685,  made  this  agreement  through  their 
selectmen  :  "  We,  whose  names  are  underwritten,  have  agreed 
with  Mr.  James  Chadwick  to  keep  the  school,  to  endeavor  to 
teach  such  as  shall  resort  to  him  as  they  shall  desire,  to  read, 
or  write  or  cypher,  or  all  of  them,  until  the  next  annual  meet- 
ing in  February  next.  For  which  service  of  his,  he  shall  be 
paid  by  the  town  in  general  three  pounds  in  com,  besides 
what  he  shall  have  or  agree  with  the  scholars  for,  or  their 
parents  or  masters ;  or  for  want  of  agreement,  the  said  Mr. 
Chadwick  in  his  demands  not  to  exceed  what  usually  is  paid 
in  other  places  for  schooling ;  viz,  to  have  by  the  week  for  a 
reader  four  pence,  and  for  a  writer,  six  pence." 

Dorchester,  in  1655,  made  this  contract  with  Ichabod 
Wiswall :  "  First,  the  said  Ichabod,  with  the  consent  of  his 
father,  shall  from  the  7th  of  March  next  ensuing  until  the 
end  of  three  full  years  from  thence  be  completed  and  ended, 
instruct  and  teach  in  the  free  school  in  Dorchester  all  such 
children  as  by  the  inhabitants  shall  be  committed  unto  his 
care,  in  English,  Latin,  and  Greek,  as  from  time  to  time  the 
children  shall  be  capable,  and  also  instruct  them  in  writing 
as  he  shall  be  able  ;  which  is  to  be  understood  such  children 


I20  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

as  are  so  far  entered  already  as  to  know  their  letters  and  to 
spell  somewhat ;  and  also  provided  the  school  house  from 
time  to  time  be  kept  in  good  order  and  comfortable  for  a  man 
to  abide  in,  both  in  summer  and  winter,  by  providing  fire 
seasonably  so  that  it  may  neither  be  prejudicial  to  master  nor 
scholars ;  to  and  in  case  of  palpable  neglect  and  matter  of 
complaint  and  not  reformed,  it  shall  not  bind  the  master  to 
endanger  his  health. 

"  Secondly,  that  the  selectmen  of  Dorchester  shall  from  year 
to  year,  every  year,  pay  or  cause  to  be  paid  unto  Ichabod  or 
his  father  by  his  assignment,  the  full  sum  of  £2$,  two  thirds 
in  wheat,  pease  or  barley,  merchantable,  and  one  third  in 
Indian,  at  or  before  the  first  of  March,  during  the  three  years, 
yearly,  at  price  current,  which  is  to  be  understood  the  price 
which  the  General  Court  shall  from  time  to  time  appoint." 

A  few  votes  are  found  indicating  that  even  the  ancient 
schoolmaster  needed  to  be  looked  after.  Among  the  rules 
for  the  government  of  the  master  at  Dorchester  in  1645  was 
this  :  "  That  the  schoolmaster  shall  diligently  attend  his  school 
and  do  his  utmost  endeavors  for  benefitting  his  scholars  ac- 
cording to  his  best  discretion,  without  unnecessary  absenting 
himself  to  the  prejudice  of  his  scholars  and  hindering  their 
learning."  At  Northampton,  in  1685,  a  master  was  engaged 
"  to  keep  school  one  year,  provided  he  keep  ten  months  cer- 
tain in  twelve,  and  in  case  he  be  absent  two  months,  to  make  up 
the  time  at  the  year's  end."  Wallingford,  in  17 13,  appointed 
a  committee  of  two  "  to  see  that  the  teacher  keeps  his  hours." 
At  Providence,  in  1767,  a  committee  proposed  "that  the 
masters  in  each  school  during  the  common  school  hours  shall 
be  obliged  to  give  a  constant  attention  to  the  duties  of  their 
office,  and  not  engage  in  any  employ  that  might  impede  the 
due  instruction  of  the  youth  under  their  care."  But  the 
recommendation  was  rejected. 

Some  enlightenment  is  found  in  these  three  pictures  of  the 
olden  schoolmaster.   John  Adams,  in  a  letter  to  his  friend, 


THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOLMASTER  I2i 

Richard  Cranch,  said  :  "  When  the  destined  time  arrives, 
he  enters  upon  action  and  as  a  haughty  monarch  ascends 
his  throne,  the  pedagogue  mounts  his  awful  great  chair  and 
disposes  right  and  justice  through  his  whole  empire;  .  .  . 
sometimes  paper,  sometimes  his  penknife,  now  birch,  now 
arithmetic,  now  a  ferule,  then  ABC,  then  scolding,  then 
flattering,  then  thwacking,  calls  for  the  pedagogue's  attention." 

From  Boxford  comes  this  account  of  a  master  :  '"  Browned 
by  the  sun  and  heat  while  cultivating  his  arable  acres ;  his 
hands  like  those  of  the  sturdy  yeomen  rather  than  a  school- 
master's ;  his  gestures  and  walk  betokening  the  commanding 
position  which  he  holds ;  all  are  brought  to  our  eyes  while 
we  hear  him  affirm  that  g-e-s  spells  guess." 

Abraham  Perkins  taught  the  moving  school  in  Sanbornton, 
New  Hampshire,  for  several  years.  "  He  always  wore  the 
three  cornered  cocked  hat  made  of  wool  or  felt  as  did  the 
minister.  His  coat  was  single  breasted  and  home-made  with 
a  broad  tail.  His  breeches  were  of  velvet  with  silver  or  plated 
buckles  at  the  knees.  He  carried  a  large  ivory-headed  cane, 
and  he  customarily  saluted  his  pupils  on  entering  the  school- 
room." 

Dignified  in  demeanor,  stem  and  forbidding  in  aspect, 
harsh,  often  cruel,  in  action,  the  schoolmaster  typified  the 
spirit  of  the  age,  and  although  the  colonies  were  often  weary 
and  heavy  laden,  yet  under  all  their  burdens  they  never  wholly 
abandoned  him,  but  provided  for  him  as  one  of  the  pillars 
upon  which  their  future  depended. 


V 

SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES 

To  understand  the  hature  and  value  of  the  salaries  paid 
schoolmasters,  it  is  necessary  to  make  a  brief  survey  of 
colonial  finances.  At  the  time  New  England  was  being 
settled  England  was  suffering  from  financial  stringency,  and 
the  exportation  of  money  was  forbidden.  Therefore  there 
was  very  little  English  currency  in  the  new  settlements. 
The  colonists  were  compelled,  as  primitive  communities 
without  money,  to  establish  a  system  of  barter,  not  an  ex- 
change of  goods  for  goods,  but  a  system  of  payment  in  cer- 
tain commodities  which  seemed  to  furnish  the  best  medium 
of  exchange.  In  163 1  Massachusetts  made  com  legal  tender 
for  all  debts  at  the  usual  market  rates  "  unless  money  or 
beaver  had  been  expressly  named  in  the  contract."  A  debt 
of  twelvepence  or  less  could  be  paid  in  bullets  ;  forty  shillings 
or  less  could  be  paid  in  Indian  wampum.  Connecticut  and 
Rhode  Island  had  similar  legislation.  Corn  was  the  great 
staple,  the  center  of  much  of  the  early  colonial  financiering. 
In  times  of  scarcity  attempts  were  made  to  restrain  its  ex- 
port ;  in  1633  people  were  forbidden  to  feed  it  to  their  swine. 
"'  The  rate  was  fixed  from  year  to  year  at  which  it  was  received 
for  taxes  or  debts.  Fluctuations  in  the  market  value  for  the 
commodity  led  to  great  difficulties  in  regulating  the  currency 
of  corn."  Often  rebates  had  to  be  allowed,  as  will  be  seen  in 
some  of  the  experiences  of  schoolmasters  to  be  given  later. 

Town  treasuries  overstocked  with  this  and  other  merchan- 
dise had  to  sell  at  a  loss  when  the  market  price  fell  below  the 
established  rates.    In  1662  Rhode  Island  made  beef,  pork, 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  1 23 

and  peas  receivable  at  the  market  price.  In  1674  wool  at 
twelvepence  per  pound  was  made  "  a  standard  of  valuation 
in  assessing  rates  and  in  settling  estates." 

Towns  accepted  various  home  commodities  in  payment  of 
taxes.  In  1687  Hingham  taxes  were  paid  in  pails;  in  1693 
Woburn  taxes  were  paid  in  shoes;  in  the  early  1700's 
Whately  taxes  were  paid  in  grain  and  oxen.  Church  charges 
were  paid  in  wheat,  three  pecks  for  each  member.  Taunton 
early  manufactured  iron,  and  pig  iron  was  made  the  standard 
of  value  for  that  town,  Maine  made  lumber  the  standard  of 
value  as  late  as  1781,  when  a  thousand  boards  was  reckoned 
equal  to  six  and  two-thirds  dollars,  and  a  thousand  of  good 
merchantable  shingles  equal  to  one  and  two-thirds  dollars  in 
the  payment  of  taxes. 

Weeden,  speaking  of  the  times  from  1663  to  1690,  says: 
"  Men  bartered  peltry,  wampum,  or  corn  in  terms  of  money. 
Taxes  were  levied  not  in  solid  coin  or  its  paper  representatives, 
but  in  farm  produce,  '  country  pay.'  Cattle  walked  into  the 
public  treasury ;  if  fat,  they  gave  currency  to  property  and 
wealth  ;  if  lean,  they  walked  out  again,  repudiated  by  the 
wary  tax  collector,  because  their  spare  shanks  gave  too  much 
movement  and  too  little  solid  value  to  this  peripatetic  cur- 
rency of  the  public  wealth.  One  of  the  pinching  wants  of 
the  time  was  not  only  for  quicker  capital  and  more  money, 
but  for  a  better  currency  of  that  which  they  had." 

What  little  coin  there  was  in  the  colonies  was  largely  for- 
eign— the  Spanish  milled  dollar,  Portuguese  and  Dutch  coins. 
To  this  was  added  in  165 1  the  Massachusetts  Bay  shilling, 
coined  in  Boston  at  a  value  of  two  pence  less  than  the  Eng- 
lish shilling  so  that  it  would  not  be  taken  out  of  the  country. 

As  a  result  of  these  conditions  prices  were  rated  in  three 
forms,  well  illustrated  by  this  account  of  the  Connecticut 
situation  in  1705.  "Pay,  money,  pay  as  money.  Pay  is 
grain,  pork,  beef,  &c  at  the  prices  set  by  the  General  Court 
that  year ;  money  is  pieces  of  eight,  Ryalls,  or  Boston  or  Bay 


124  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

shillings  as  they  call  them,  also  wampum,  viz.,  Indian  beads 
which  serve  as  change ;  pay  as  money  is  provisions  as 
aforesaid  1/3  cheaper  than  as  the  Assembly  or  General  Court 
sets  it.  ...  A  six  penny  knife  costs  six  pence  in  hard  money, 
eight  pence  as  money ^  twelve  pence  'vi\  pay." 

The  great  debts  entailed  on  the  colonies  because  of  the 
many  Indian  and  colonial  wars  forced  them  to  paper  cur- 
rency as  a  means  of  relief.  Massachusetts  made  the  first 
issue  in  1690.  In  1692  it  was  ordered  that  the  notes  should 
"  pass  current  within  this  province  in  all  payments  equal  to 
money,"  and  various  other  issues  or  "  emissions  "  were  made 
by  all  the  colonies  after  this.  The  value  of  these  bills  could 
not  be  maintained  even  by  strong  colonial  enactments  and  they 
depreciated  rapidly.  As  evidence  of  this  depreciation,  .in  17 10 
an  ounce  of  silver  was  worth  eight  shillings  in  colonial  bills, 
in  1744  it  was  worth  thirty-two  shillings,  and  in  1750  it  rose 
to  sixty  shillings.  Such  fluctuations  made  all  business  relations 
very  uncertain,  and  the  salaried  man,  then  as  now,  suffered. 

A  pamphlet  issued  in  Boston  in  1720  on  the  stringent 
money  conditions  speaks  of  the  hundreds  of  warrants  issued 
each  court  "  against  good  honest  housekeepers,  who  are  as 
willing  to  pay  their  debts  as  their  creditors  would  be  and  have 
wherewith  to  pay,  but  cannot  raise  money  .  .  .  and  this  because 
they  are  obliged  to  work  for  half,  nay,  some  for  2/3  goods, 
and  their  creditors  will  take  nothing  but  money." 

From  this  currency  condition  grew  the  new  terms  "  old 
tenor  "  and  "  new  tenor."  "  Old  tenor  "  referred  to  bills  issued 
before  1737;  "new  tenor,"  to  those  after  that  date.  One 
shilling  new  tenor  was  worth  about  four  shillings  old  tenor. 

The  extent  to  which  this  combination  of  money  and  com- 
modity entered  into  educational  matters  is  shown  by  the 
Harvard  College  account  book  from  1650  to  1659  as  quoted 
by  Palfrey.  While  some  money  was  paid,  most  of  the  col- 
lege expenses  were  paid  in  produce,  as  '"  a  sheep  weighing 
sixty-seven  pounds ;  two  bushels  of  wheat ;  thirty-five  pounds 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  12$ 

of  sugar ;  eight  bushels  of  malt ;  a  bushel  of  parsnips ;  thirty 
pounds  of  butter ;  three  bushels  and  three  pecks  of  apples ; 
four  quarters  of  a  wether ;  three  quarters  of  a  lamb ;  a  quarter 
of  beef ;  a  fat  cow ;  eighteen  yards  of  satin ;  five  yards  of 
kersey ;  three  yards  of  yellow  cotton ;  two  thousand  nails." 
Even  Governor  Dudley  paid  most  of  his  son's  college  bills 
in  Indian  corn. 

The  following,  taken  from  the  account  book  of  John 
Pynchon  of  Springfield,  shows  more  clearly  the  proportion 
of  real  money  used  in  such  transactions.  He  sent  his  son 
Joseph  to  Mr.  Corlett's  grammar  school  in  Cambridge  in 
1654,  and  John  the  next  year. 

April  the  nth,  1654.    I  left  my  son  Joseph  at  board  with  Goodman 
Beale  of  Cambridge,  whom  I  am  to  allow  for  his  tabling  ;^io  per  annum. 
April  17th,  1654.    Paid  Goodman  Beale  in  money,        £'^■-^0 
April  31,  1654.    Paid  him  in  money,  i-oo 

October,  1654.    Sent  him  from  Mr.  Peck  of  New  Haven 
2  firkins  of  butter  weighed  neat  57  lbs.  a  piece,  2-17 

The  2  firkins,  0-03 

Paid  in  cloth  by  Bro.  Davis,  2-10 

Paid  by  my  Bro.  Davis  in  money,  i-oo 

In  all  for  a  year's  tabling,  10-00 

31st  of  August  1655,  Paid  Goodman  Beale  6  yds.  of  fine  serge 

at  6s.  8d.  per  yd.  2-00 

Paid  in  money  20s.,  more  in  money,  *         2-00 

In  wampum,  0-00 

April  I  ith,  1654,  Joseph  Pynchon  went  to  school 

with  Mr.  Corlett : 
April  1 7th,  1 654,  Paid  Mr.  Corlett  toward  Joseph's 

schooling  in  money,  o-io 

By  my  Bro.  Davis,  l-oo 

More  by  my  Bro.  Davis,  i-oo 

Paid  by  20  bushels  of  wheat,  4-10 

£^  of  it  goes  for  Joseph's  2  years  schooling  to  May,  1656,  and  so 
there  is  ^3  onward  to  Joseph  and  John's  next  year. 

The  application  of  these  monetary  conditions  to  the  pay- 
ment of  the  schoolmaster's  salary  can  be  readily  divided  into 


126  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

two  periods,  that  previous  to  1 700,  when  most  of  the  bargains 
stated  clearly  not  only  the  amount  of  salary  but  in  what  it 
was  to  be  paid,  and  that  after  1 700,  when,  though  paid  largely 
in  currency,  it  was  much  affected  by  the  depreciation.  The 
agreements  given  in  the  preceding  section  show  somewhat 
the  workings  of  the  first  period,  but  a  fuller  exposition  is 
warranted.  Many  town  votes  specify  the  quantity  of  pay  but 
not  the  quality ;  others  are  very  particular  through  a  long 
period  of  years.  Amesbury's  earliest  teacher  was  paid  "  in 
provisions."  The  Dedham  master  of  1659  received  a  salary 
of  five  pounds  per  quarter  "to  be  paid  half  in  wheat  and  half 
in  other  corn."  The  phrase  "  one  half  in  wheat  "  is  very  com- 
mon in  the  records.  At  Dorchester,  in  1657,  Thomas  Wiswall 
"desired  14  bushels  of  Indian  corn  in  part  pay  for  his  son's 
teaching  school."  Three  years  later  he  "  had  a  bill  given  him 
to  receive  of  the  constable  1 8  shillings  and  6  pence  in  satis- 
faction for  the  loss  he  sustained  by  reason  of  the  loss  of  the 
price  of  Indian  corn  which  he  received  for  that  which  was 
due  to  the  schoolmaster." 

A  series  of  votes  from  the  Dedham  records  give  a  very 
clear  view  of  salary  payments. 

In  1670  the  schoolmaster  agreed  to  continue  on  the  old 
terms,  "provided  he  receive  no  Indian  corn  upon  this  account 
for  more  than  3  shillings  per  bushel."  The  year  before  he 
had  been  paid  wholly  in  "  com  at  price  current." 

In  1672  two  bills  are  given,  one  to  "Mr.  Samuel  Main  to 
receive  of  the  constable  8pds.  los.  in  full  satisfaction  for  all 
dues  to  him  for  keeping  the  school  in  Dedham.  This  is  to 
be  paid  in  Indian  corn  at  three  shillings  per  bushel ";  and 
the  other  to  "  Mr.  Burroughs  to  receive  of  the  constables 
jCz  S^-  and  £3  IS.,  one  half  in  Indian  corn  and  the  other 
half  in  English  grain." 

In  Dedham,  1679,  "Agreed  with  Thomas  Batteley  to  keep 
a  school  in  Dedham  for  the  space  of  half  one  year,  and  to 
begin  the  17th  day  of  this  inst.  and  to  teach  all  the  male 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  127 

children  that  shall  be  sent  to  him  to  read  and  write  and  cast 
accounts  according  to  the  best  skill  he  hath,  and  whatsoever 
else  is  proper  to  scholars  that  he  is  capable  to  teach  them, 
only  he  reserves  to  himself  four  or  five  weeks  in  case  he 
cannot  dispense  his  business  without,  he  abating  so  much  as 
the  time  is  he  improves  for  himself  out  of  his  wages,  or  pro- 
cures one  that  may  be  sufficient  to  instruct  the  children  in 
his  absence,  and  for  his  recompense  he  is  to  receive  of  the 
town  10  pds.  in  corn  at  country  prices  as  now  they  are  current 
according  to  the  Court  order." 

In  1685  a  schoolmaster  was  engaged  "for  the  space  of 
one  half  year  absolutely,  and  so  much  longer  after  the  half 
year  is  out  as  he  can  without  damage. to  himself.  For  which 
service  that  half  year  he  is  to  receive  ;!^7  in  corn  pay  and 
;;^5  in  money,  and  so  proportionally  for  what  time  he  shall 
continue  longer  in  that  service." 

In  1690  the  selectmen  made  return  "that  they  have  hired 
Thomas  Batteley  to  keep  the  school  two  months,  December 
and  January  next  ensuing,  for  which  service  he  is  to  have 
for  a  recompense  £3-6-8  in  corn,  Indian  at  3s.  per  bushel, 
rye  at  4s.  per  bushel." 

In  1 69 1,  "Agreed  with  Joseph  Lord  to  keep  the  school 
one  half  year,  for  which  he  is  to  have  for  his  pains  ^  1 5  as 
foUoweth,  ;^5  in  current  money,  and  ;^io  in  com  at  price 
current." 

At  Rehoboth,  in  1680,  "the  townsmen,  acquainting  the 
town  that  they  had  a  treaty  with  Mr.  Edward  Howard  to  teach 
school,  acquainted  the  town  with  the  said  Mr.  Howard's  terms, 
viz. ;  twenty  pounds  a  year  in  country  pay  and  his  diet,  besides 
what  the  Court  doth  allow  in  that  case."  The  terms  were 
accepted,  "  Mr.  William  Sabin  freely  proffering  to  diet  him 
the  first  quarter  of  the  year."  In  1683  "at  a  town  meeting, 
the  townsmen  presented  Mr.  Taylor,  a  schoolmaster,  and  the 
propositions  that  he  and  the  townsmen  treated  upon,  viz.-; 
that  he  should  have  for  the  present  year  /^S  ^^^  money. 


128  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

;^io  as  money,  and  his  diet;  upon  which  the  town  voted 
that  he  should  be  engaged  for  the  year." 

In  1699  the  sckOolmaster  was  to  receive  "  thirteen  pounds, 
one  half  in  silver  money,  and  the  other  half  in  good  mer- 
chantable boards,  at  the  current  and  merchantable  price." 

In  Norwich  no  schoolmaster  is  mentioned  before  1677  when 
"John  Birchard  occupied  the  teacher's  chair  and  was  engaged 
to  keep  nine  months  of  the  year  for  ;£2  5,  provision  pay." 

Windsor,  Connecticut,  in  1 674,  treated  with  Mr.  Cornish  : 
"His  terms  were  ;^36  per  year.^Some  wished  children  to 
pay  5  shillings  per  quarter,  others  wished  the  town  to  pay  the 
whole  expense."  In  May  of  the  next  year  "  the  townsmen 
agreed  that  Mr.  Cornish  should  have  something  out  of  what 
we  have  in  hand  of  the  town  rate  ...  to  take  it  in  the  kind 
it  is  brought  in." 

In  1698  the  master  was  "to  receive  ;^20  besides  that 
which  is  given  of  gift  money."  An  agreement  was  made  with 
a  master  later,  and  his  "  salary  is  to  be  ;^35  in  country  pay 
or  two-thirds  of  so  much  in  money." 

In  1683  Guilford  voted  the  school  teacher  "^{^30  salary, 
two-thirds  to  be  paid  by  the  town  and  the  rest  by  those 
having  children  taught.  Payment  might  be  made  in  winter 
wheat  at  5s.  a  bushel,  good  meslin  [meslin  is  wheat  and  rye 
grown  together]  at*  4s.  6d.  a  bushel,  rye  at  3s.  6d.  per  bushel, 
Indian  com  at  2s.  6d.  per  bushel,  oats  at  2s.  a  bushel,  barley 
at  4s.  a  bushel,  and  flax  well  dressed  from  the  swingel  at  one 
shilling  a  pound." 

At  Lynn,  in  1681,  the  minister  was  also  the  schoolmaster. 
The  amount  of  salary  seems  to  indicate  that  it  was  for  both 
positions,  as  it  is  much  larger  than  that  usually  allowed  the 
schoolmasters  in  other  places  at  that  time.  "^80  lawful 
money  a  year  for  salary ;  one  third  of  which  was  to  be  paid 
in  money,  and  the  other  two  thirds  in  articles  of  domestic 
production  at  stipulated  prices.  Besides  the  salary  a  contri- 
bution was  kept  open." 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  129 

Boston  seldom  mentioned  how  the  master's  salary  was  to 
be  paid,  most  votes  merely  giving  the  amount  "  from  the 
treasury,"  but  in  1684  a  master  was  elected  to  conduct  a 
writing  school,  "for  which  the  town  is  to  pay  him  ;^io  in 
money  and  j[,20  in  country  pay  as  money  or  at  money 
price."  The  next  year  it  was  agreed  that  he  should  have 
";^io  added  to  his  salary  the  year  ensuing,  which  will  be 
£,^0  for  said  year." 

A  meeting  was  called  at  Haverhill  in  1685  "in  order  to 
a  supply  and  the  providirjg  a  fit  person  to  keep  school  in  this 
town,  and  make  it  his  only  employ  to  instruct  the  children 
or  young  men  or  any  of  the  inhabitants  of  Haverhill  in 
reading  and  in  writing  and  in  cyphering."  The  selectmen 
were  given  full  power  until  the  next  annual  meeting,  but 
were  limited  not  "to  give  him  on  the  public  account  more 
than  p^4  in  corn  till  that  time." 

At  Taunton,  in  1685,  "the  schoolmaster,  as  well  as  the 
minister  of  that  early  day,  was  paid  at  public  expense,  as  a 
public  benefactor  and  a  public  necessity,  in  the  currency  of 
the  time,  iron." 

Here  is  a  sample  order  from  an  early  settler  to  pay  Mr. 
Green  the  schoolmaster's  rate  : 

Ensign  Leonard,  I  pray  to  let  Mr.  Green  have  four  shillings  more 
in  iron  as  money,  and  place  it  to  my  account. 

June  20,  1684.  James  Walker. 

Iron  orders  were  numerous  in  all  Taunton  business 
transactions. 

At  Rehoboth,  in  1699,  "the  selectmen  made  an  agree- 
ment with  Thomas  Robinson  of  this  town  to  keep  a  reading 
and  writing  school  for  the  term  of  three  months,  to  begin 
the  first  or  second  week  in  April,  at  the  farthest ;  and  for 
his  labor  he  is  to  have  ;^3,  half  in  silver  money,  the  one 
half  of  it  when  he  has  kept  half  the  term,  and  the  other  half 
when  his  quarter  is  expired ;  the  last  part  of  his  pay  in  corn 
equivalent  to  money." 


I30  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

At  Deerfield,  in  1703,  a  committee  "bargained  with  Mr. 
Jno.  Richards  to  pay  him  for  the  teaching  of  their  town  chil- 
dren for  the  year  jC2S,  in  manner  following;  that  is  to  say 
they  have  by  bargain  liberty  to  pay  him  the  one  third  part 
of  said  sum  in  barley  and  no  more ;  the  other  two  thirds  in 
other  grains,  that  is  to  say  in  Indian  corn,  pease  or  rye,  in 
any  or  all  of  them,  oats  wholly  excepted ;  all  these  afore- 
mentioned to  be  good  and  merchantable." 

At  Springfield,  in  1709,  it  was  voted  to  pay  the  school- 
master "  forty  pounds  in  grain,  viz.,  pease,  rye,  Indian  com 
and  barley,  at  the  ancient  town  price." 

Payment  of  commodities  extended  beyond  the  beginnings 
of  paper  currency,  especially  in  the  newer  settlements,  but  it 
became  a  constantly  decreasing  factor. 

At  Norton,  in  1720,  the  schoolmaster's  salary  was  thirty 
pounds,  one  third  money,  two  thirds  "  other  pay  "  ;  then  it 
was  "  thirty  pounds  in  the  produce  of  the  town  "  ;  and  still 
later  "  the  selectmen  shall  agree  with  said  Wetherell  for  his 
service,  and  he  shall  be  paid  in  the  produce  of  the  town." 

Mendon,  in  1701,  voted  to  make  this  arrangement  with  a 
teacher:  "And  for  this  or  any  other  person's  encouragement 
in  said  work,  the  town  shall  pay  ;^io  in  good  current  pay  at 
money  price,  and  each  person  sending  children  to  school  to 
pay  one  penny  a  week."  The  matter  was  left  to  the  select- 
men, and  they  made  an  agreement  with  a  schoolmaster  "to 
keep  school  one  half  a  year  and  to  begin  on  Monday,  the 
14th  of  April  next,  and  for  his  encouragement  to  have  ;^5 
in  good  current  pay  at  money  price,  and  one  penny  a  week 
for  every  child  that  comes  to  school." 

In  1 72 1  this  agreement  was  made  :  "  If  he  kept  constantly 
at  the  schoolhouse,  he  was  to  be  paid  at  the  rate  of  ;£28  per 
annum,  if  he  kept  a  moving  school,  he  was  to  be  paid  at  the 
rate  of  ^30  per  annum,  and  if  be  kept  the  school  through- 
out the  year,  he  was  to  be  paid  3/4  in  money  and  1/4  in  pro- 
visions at  money  price.  Any  lost  time  was  to  be  '  reducted.'  " 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  131 

When  Stephen  Longfellow  was  master  at  Portland,  1745- 
1760,  much  of  his  pay  was  in  cordwood  and  produce. 

This  receipt  shows  a  late  date  in  the  use  of  '"  country 
pay "  at  Sutton,  New  Hampshire : 

March  21,  1792.  Then  my  son  Robert  Hogg  received  17  bushels 
of  rye  from  Simon  Kezar  of  Sutton  which  was  due  to  me  for  teaching 
school  two  months  in  Sutton.  per  me  Robert  Hogg. 

In  reckoning  the  real  value  of  the  schoolmaster's  salary  it 
is  necessary  to  know  that  the  pound  was  worth  but  three  and 
one-third  dollars  ;  it  was  not  the  pound  of  to-day.  The  amount 
of  the  salary  varied  according  to  the  wealth  of  the  com- 
munity ;  there  was  no  real  standard,  though  there  was  this 
similarity  :  the  salary  of  a  grammar  master  was  always  some- 
what greater  than  that  of  the  writing  or  English  master. 
Marblehead,  in  1675,  paid  the  first  schoolmaster  forty 
pounds ;  in  1725  it  was  voted  to  engage  a  man  "  at  a  salary 
of  not  more  than  ;^8o  for  the  first  year."  This  apparent 
doubling  of  the  salary  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the  low  value 
of  the  currency.  In  1676  Newbury  engaged  a  master  and 
the  selectmen  agreed  "  to  pay  him  ;^io  out  of  the  next  town 
rate."  In  169 1  it  had  advanced  to  thirty  pounds.  In  1701 
Scituate  paid  twenty  pounds.  Dorchester,  in  1661,  selected 
a  master  and  "  hath  promised  him  for  his  work  ^^2$  for  this 
year."  Hadley  elected  a  schoolmaster  about  1700  and  paid 
him  twenty-seven  and  one-third  pounds,  or  ninety-one  dollars, 
a  year.  He  remained  at  this  salary  for  eighteen  years.  In 
1693  Boston  paid  Ezekiel  Cheever  sixty  pounds  in  money. 
Andover,  in  1723,  paid  forty-four  pounds.  Westford,  in 
1735,  voted  "to  raise  ;^20  money  to  pay  the  schoolmaster," 
Falmouth,  in  1737,  raised  the  schoolmaster's  salary  to  thirty- 
five  pounds.  Duxbury,  in  1 749,  paid  thirty-seven  pounds  ten 
shillings  for  keeping  school  one  quarter  of  a  year.  This  was  in 
the  depreciated  currency,  for  in  1723  the  salary  was  only 
twenty-seven  pounds.  Bristol,  in  1724,  voted  "the  salary  to 
be  jCso  if  he  is  single,  jC6o  if  married." 


132  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

In  the  New  Haven  Colony  twenty  pounds  a  year  was  paid 
to  Ezekiel  Cheever  for  the  first  two  or  three  years,  "  but  that 
not  proving  a  competent  maintenance,  in  August,  1644,  it 
was  enlarged  to  ;!C30  a  year," 

Plymouth,  in  1696,  paid  the  master  thirty-three  pounds. 
Framingham  paid  the  grammar  master  seventeen  pounds 
in  171 5,  thirty  pounds  in  1720,  and  forty-five  pounds  in 
1724.  Portland,  in  1733,  paid  at  the  rate  of  sixty  pounds  a 
year,  and  in  1740  the  schoolmaster  received  one  hundred 
thirty  pounds,  old  tenor,  worth  about  eighty  dollars.  In 
1680  Medfield  engaged  a  schoolmaster  "to  keep  school  for 
the  year  for  ;!^2  5,  ;i^io  in  money,  the  rest  in  country  pay." 
In  Springfield,  in  1678,  the  schoolmaster  received  twenty 
pounds ;  in  1 709,  forty  pounds.  At  Harvard,  in  1 7 1 8,  a 
graduate  of  Harvard  College  was  hired  "  at  a  salary  of  jC40 
a  year,  just  half  the  annual  stipend  of  the  minister."  At 
Watertown  "  the  earliest  mention  of  the  pay  of  a  school- 
master was  January  6,  1650,  when  jC^o  was  voted  for  Mr. 
Richard  Norcross ;  and  this  continued  to  be  the  salary  with 
little  variation,  except  as  to  manner  of  paying  it,  for  about 
seventy-five  years,  with  a  few  exceptions  about  171 5  or  '20, 
when  it  was  jCs6." 

Beverly,  in  1686,  voted  to  have  a  schoolmaster,  "provided 
that  said  committee  do  not  exceed  ;^20  in  pay  or  ^10  in 
money  for  said  teaching  one  whole  year  from  the  date 
hereof."  In  1704  the  salary  was  thirty  pounds  for  grammar- 
school  studies. 

At  Roxbury,  in  1649,  "the  Feoff es  have  agreed  with 
Mr.  Hanford  to  teach  the  free  school  the  next  year,  .  .  .  and 
for  his  wages  we  do  promise  to  give  him  ^22." 

A  series  of  votes  from  different  parts  of  New  England, 
covering  about  a  hundred  years,  will  show  clearly  this  ap- 
parent fluctuation  of  salaries. 

In  1675  Watertown  "  agreed  with  Mr.  Goddard  to  keep 
the  school  in  this  town  for  a  year,  his  year  to  begin  the 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  133 

5th  of  April,  1675,  and  the  town  to  allow  him  for  his  salary 
jC2>o  and  a  fortnight's  time  at  hayfill,  and  his  salary  to 
be  paid  out  of  the  town  rate  that  shall  be  made  in  the 
year  '75." 

Farmington,  Connecticut,  in  1684,  "voted  that  the  town 
would  give  jC2S  as  a  town  by  the  year  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  Mr,  James  to  teach  school,  and  so  proportionably  so 
long  as  he  and  the  town  shall  agree." 

Northampton,  in  1692,  voted  "to  give  ^40  per  year  for 
a  schoolmaster  that  might  be  attained  for  it  for  that  work, 
and  the  above  said  sum  of  ;^40  they  agree  to  pay  for  one 
year  and  the  scholars  to  go  free." 

At  Sandwich,  in  1695,  ten  pounds  was  appropriated  for 
the  schoolmaster.  This  continued  until  1707  when  "an 
appropriation  of  ^20  was  made  to  secure  the  services  of 
Mr.  Thomas  Prince,"  and  the  provision  was  made  that  "  they 
who  send  shall  pay  ;j{^io  more." 

Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  in  1696,  voted  "that  £30 
money  per  annum  be  allowed  said  schoolmaster  as  a  salary, 
to  be  raised  as  the  law  directs,"  Twenty-one  persons  "  dis- 
sent against  the  vote  for  said  schoolmaster's  salary."  In 
1 70 1,  "  then  agreed  that  we  will  allow  and  will  pay  in  behalf 
of  the  town  such  schoolmaster  for  his  settlement  amongst  us 
^40  per  annum." 

At  Braintree,  in  1701,  "the  said  inhabitants  voted  that 
Sir  Veasey,  John  Veasey,  should  be  the  schoolmaster  for  the 
present  year  if  he  and  the  selectmen  can  agree,  they  to  agree 
with  him  as  reasonably  as  they  can."  The  agreement  was  for 
thirty  pounds  for  one  year. 

Sudbury,  in  1703,  voted  a  salary  of  twenty-eight  pounds, 
"  he  deducting  a  month's  pay  ...  for  his  being  absent  one 
month  in  summer  time  from  keeping  school,  which  amounteth 
to  twelfth  part  of  time." 

Harwich,  in  171 5,  voted  "to  give  our  schoolmaster  ^£48 
a  year  for  two  years."     In    17 17  "Mr  Phillip  Selew  was 


134  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

engaged  as  schoolmaster  at  ^48."  In  17 19  Mr.  Selew  was 
still  schoolmaster  at  a  salary  of  fifty  pounds.  In  1741  the 
salary  of  the  schoolmaster,  still  Mr.  Selew,  was  eighty-six 
pounds.  In  1742  Mr.  Selew  received  a  salary  of  one  hundred 
pounds,  one  half  the  minister's. 

Lancaster,  in  17 18,  voted  "to  have  Mr.  Samuel  Stow  for 
a  schoolmaster  for  the  year  ensuing,  beginning  the  first  day 
of  May  current,  and  to  allow  him  ^^40  for  the  year ;  or  pro- 
portionable for  what  time  he  shall  serve ;  and  to  raise  the 
same  by  the  next  invoice." 

Newbury,  in  17 19,  voted  "to  give  Mr.  John  Woodbridge 
JC40  for  the  ensuing  year  to  keep  a  free  school  for  Latin 
scholars,  readers,  writers,  and  cypherers,  and  jC6o  for  main- 
taining schools  in  the  remote  parts  of  the  town."  In  1731 
the  same  man  "  was  chosen  grammar  schoolmaster  for  the 
year  ensuing  and  shall  have  jCaS  for  his  services  and  shall 
have  none  but  Latin  scholars." 

Cambridge,  in  1684,  "voted  on  the  affirmative,  that 
Mr.  Elijah  Corlett  shall  be  allowed  and  paid  out  of  the  town 
rate  ;i^20  for  so  long  as  he  continues  to  be  schoolmaster  in 
this  place."  In  169 1  "it  was  put  to  vote  whether  there 
should  be  given  by  the  town  in  common  pay  annually,  to  a 
schoolmaster,  jCi2,  and  it  was  voted  on  the  affirmative." 
The  next  year  "  it  was  voted  to  pay  the  schoolmaster  jC  20 
per  annum  in  common  pay."  In  1737  it  was  "also  voted 
that  the  sum  of  jC40  be  paid  Mr.  Hovey  for  his  service  as 
schoolmaster  for  the  year  ensuing." 

When  Easton  was  incorporated  in  1725  it  was  ordered 
to  "  procure  and  maintain  a  schoolmaster  to  instruct  their 
youth  in  writing  and  reading."  No  action  was  taken  for  over 
a  year,  and  then  when  it  was  proposed  in  town  meeting 
some  one  moved  the  salary  be  made  equal  to  the  minister's. 
It  was  instantly  voted  down.  Motions  for  forty  pounds,  thirty 
pounds,  twenty  pounds,  ten  pounds,  and  five  pounds  were 
successively  made  and  lost.    Finally  it  was  "  voted  and  agreed 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  135 

to  give  ;^3  to  a  schoolmaster  for  one  year  to  teach  youths  to 
read  and  write,  and  to  keep  it  at  his  own  house  and  to  find 
himself  diet." 

Oxford,  in  1740,  voted  the  "  rtiaster  is  to  be  paid  out  of 
the  town's  treasury  jC6o  in  bills  of  public  credit  of  the  old 
tenor  or  the  equivalent."  The  master  seven  years  later  gave 
this  interesting  receipt : 

Oxford,  May  the  8th,  1 747  :  — 
Then  reckoned  with  the  selectmen  of  Oxford  and  received  ;^6o  in  full 
for  keeping  a  school  in  said  Oxford  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  to 
this  day,  I  say  received  for  me.  Richard  Rogers. 

Amesbury,  in  1709,  employed  a  master  "  to  teach  to  write 
and  cypher  and  not  to  exceed  :£S,  and  one  quarter  part  of  it 
to  be  money  and  the  other  three  quarters  as  money."  In  1 796 
a  schoolmaster  was  employed  for  seven  months  at  eighteen 
dollars  per  month.  In  1800  there  were  four  male  teachers, 
"  The  pay  was  small,  one  receiving  but  twenty-eight  dollars 
for  thirteen  weeks,  and  another,  an  experienced  teacher,  but 
four  dollars  per  week." 

Braintree,  in  1764,  "voted  that  Mr.  John  Usher's  account 
for  keeping  school  one  year  and  a  half,  .  .  .  amounting  to 
;^I050,  old  tenor,  be  allowed  and  paid  out  of  the  school 
treasury."  A  Spanish  milled  dollar  at  that  time  was  worth 
seven  pounds  in  old-tenor  bills. 

An  old  schoolmaster,  Deacon  Hawes,  says :  "At  the  close 
of  the  Revolution,  I  commenced  teaching  a  town  school  in 
Yarmouth  at  seven  dollars  a  month  and  boarded  myself,  which 
was  then  about  equal  to  seamen's  wages  in  Boston ;  .  .  .  the 
highest  wages  I  ever  had  was  thirty-five  dollars  per  month." 

At  Dorchester,  in  1791,  Mr.  Francis  Perry  stated,  "that 
his  salary  was  £4$,  of  which  he  had  to  pay  ;!^i9-io  for 
board,  and  j£i2  for  clothing,  leaving  him  but  ;^i3-io  for 
his  other  expenses." 

Outside  of  Boston  the  salary  varied  from  sixty-seven  to  one 
hundred  dollars  a  year,  a  seemingly  small  wage  for  a  full  year's 


136  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

work,  and  a  full  year  meant  six  days  in  the  week,  fifty  to  fifty- 
two  weeks  in  the  year.  In  Boston  salaries  ruled  higher,  and 
to  show  how  they  varied  there  and  into  what  difficulties  the 
masters  were  plunged  because  of  the  low  salary  and  the  quality 
of  payment,  I  wish  to  quote  quite  extensively  from  their  records. 

[1650]  "It  is  also  agreed  on  that  Mr.  Woodmansey,  the 
schoolmaster,  shall  have  jCSO  per  annum  for  his  teaching 
the  scholars  and  his  proportion  to  be  made  up  by  rate." 

[1670]  "And  it  was  further  agreed  that  the  said  Mr.  Cheever 
should  be  allowed  jC6o  per  annum  for  his  services  in  the 
school,  out  of  the  town's  rates  and  rents  that  belong  to  the 
school,  and  the  possession  and  use  of  the  schoolhouse." 

[1720]  "Amos  Angier  was  chosen  schoolmaster  for  the 
new  writing  school  at  the  south  part  of  the  town,  SLt  jC  100 
per  annum." 

[1728]  "  On  motion  of  Mr.  Nathaniel  Williams  for  another 
usher  or  assistant  in  the  school ;  Voted  that  there  be  allowed 
the  sum  of  jCSo  for  another  usher  of  the  said  school,  when 
a  suitable  person  is  provided  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  select- 
men as  usual ;  the  money  to  be  paid  as  usual  from  his  being 
introduced." 

"  Inasmuch  as  the  grammar  school  at  the  North  End  of 
the  town,  of  which 'Mr.  Peleg  Wiswall  is  the  master,  is  much 
increased  in  the  number  of  the  scholars  and  that  no  usher  is 
allowed  to  assist  him  in  his  school ;  Voted  that  there  be  an 
addition  of  ;;^40  to  the  said  Mr.  W's  salary." 

"Mr.  Peter  Blin,  schoolmaster,  asks  for  an  addition  to  his 
salary  and  ;^20  is  voted." 

[1742]  Mr.  Peleg  Wiswall  petitioned  for  an  increase  in 
salary  and  it  was  "  voted,  that  the  town  will  not  at  present 
make  any  addition  to  his  salary,  but  in  consideration  that  the 
necessaries  of  life  have  been  very  scarce,  and  not  purchased 
but  at  great  cost,  that  the  sum  of  jC  100,  bills  of  the  old  tenor, 
be  paid  out  of  the  town  treasury  unto  Mr.  Peleg  Wiswall." 
The  next  year  additions  were  made  to  all  the  masters'  salaries. 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  137 

[1745]  "  The  petition  of  Mr.  Abia  Holbrook  of  the  South 
Writing  School,  referred  over  to  this  time,  setting  forth  that 
his  salary  which  is  now  but  J[,2Q0  a  year,  old  tenor,  is  not 
sufficient  for  his  support  and  maintenance,  and  as  it  is  his 
main  dependence  he  prays  the  town  would  consider  the  same 
and  grant  him  such  a  competency  for  his  subsistence  as  may 
encourage  him  further  to  serve  the  town  in  the  station  he 
now  sustains."   One  hundred  pounds,  old  tenor,  were  granted. 

[1747]  Schoolmasters  during  the  period  of  the  depreciated 
currency  had  a  hard  time ;  there  were  petitions  every  year, 
of  which  this  is  a  sample :  "  The  petition  of  Mr.  Zachariah 
Hicks,  master  of  the  North  Writing  School,  setting  forth  that 
four  years  ago  he  had  ;£28o,  old  tenor  bills,  granted  him  in 
the  town  for  his  support,  which  at  the  time  was  to  his  full 
content  and  satisfaction,  but  within  the  course  of  years  the 
currency  of  the  Province  has  sunk  in  its  value  to  that  degree 
that  the  aforesaid  sum  is  become  very  far  short  of  answering 
the  purpose  for  which  it  was  designed,  and  he  is  thereby  ex- 
posed to  such  difficulties  as  are  too  great  an  incumbrance  to 
him  in  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  trust,  praying  the  town 
to  grant  him  such  further  allowance  as  they  shall  think 
proper."    One  hundred  pounds  were  added. 

[175 1 ]  The  masters'  salaries  were  all  voted  in  lawful 
money,  fifty  pounds  for  ushers,  from  eighty  to  one  hundred 
twenty  pounds  for  masters. 

[1757]  "The  petition  of  John  Tileston,  setting  forth  that 
he  has  served  a  regular  apprenticeship  in  one  of  the  public 
writing  schools  in  this  town,  and  has  for  two  and  a  half  years 
had  the  favor  of  being  appointed  usher  in  one  of  them,  where 
he  now  is ;  and  he,  having  at  this  time  just  entered  on  the 
stage  of  life  for  himself,  finds  his  board  and  expenses  in  it 
exceed  your  grant  that  was  allowed  him  in  his  apprenticeship, 
and  humbly  praying  that  the  town  would  allow  him  what 
further  support  they  in  their  wisdom  shall  think  needful." 
This  was  read  and  fifty  pounds  were  voted. 


138  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

[1764]  "  The  petition  of  a  number  of  the  inhabitants,  repre- 
senting that  Mr.  John  Lovell,  usher  of  the  South  Grammar 
School,  is  about  to  leave  town  for  want  of  a  competent  sup- 
port, and  therefore  praying  that  some  m'easure  may  be  taken 
by  raising  his  salary  or  otherwise  to  retam  in  the  service  of 
the  town  a  person  so  well  qualified  for  the  education  of  youth, 
was  considered  and  a  motion  made  thereon,  that  the  sum  of 
jCS^  be  given  Mr.  John  Lovell  as  a  gratuity  for  his  services 
the  present  year,  and  as  an  encouragement  to  remain  in  the 
service  of  the  town."  So  voted.  Later  in  the  year  the  salary 
was  made  sixty  pounds  and  forty  pounds  "for  encouragement." 

During  the  British  occupation  of  Boston  the  schools  were 
closed,  but  in  1776  three  were  reopened  and  masters  ap- 
pointed, "  said  masters  to  depend  upon  the  generosity  of  the 
town  for  an  allowance." 

[1777]  "  Mr.  Samuel  Hunt,  master  of  the  South  Grammar 
School,  petitions  for  an  addition  to  his  present  grant  on  ac- 
count of  the  rise  of  provisions."  A  committee  was  appointed 
and  they  reported  "  that  they  have  attended  that  service 
and  are  of  opinion  that  the  present  allowances  to  the  several 
schoolmasters  are  not  sufficient  to  support  them."  The  mas- 
ters were  granted  about  one  hundred  pounds  each. 

During  and  after  the  Revolution  salaries  were  readjusted 
in  a  unique  way.  This  is  a  sample.  Samuel  Hunt  was  voted 
one  hundred  twenty  pounds  as  salary,  plus  one  hundred  eighty 
pounds  for  six  months  "  on  account  of  the  present  high  price 
of  provisions."  Others  were  similarly  treated,  and  such  votes 
are  common  for  several  years  after  this  period. 

How  fully  schoolmasters  were  paid  may  be  seen  by  com- 
paring their  salaries  with  wages  paid  for  other  work.  The 
minister  was  the  most  highly  paid  in  those  early  days  ;  rarely 
did  the  schoolmaster  receive  so  much  as  one  half  the  min- 
ister's salary.  At  the  time  Braintree  was  paying  thirty  pounds 
to  the  schoolmaster  the  minister  received,  in  1673,  sixty 
pounds  and  house  and  five  or  six  acres  of  land ;  in  1674, 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  139 

eighty  pounds  "  in  wood  part  and  com  at  the  country  rate 
price  which  was  barley  4d.,  pease  46.,  Indian  3d.,  malt  4d." ; 
in  1697  the  salary  was  ninety  pounds. 

At  Watertown  "  it  is  propounded  that  Mr.  Phillips  should 
have  allowed  him  three  hogsheads  of  meal,  one  hogshead  of 
malt,  four  bushels  of  Indian  corn,  one  bushel  of  oatmeal,  half 
a  hundred  of  salt  fish,  ...  for  apparel  and  other  provisions 
;!{^20,  or  else  ^11  given  him  in  money  per  annum,  to  make 
his  own  provisions  if  he  choose  it  the  rather."  The  master 
received  about  one  third  this  amount. 

Sudbury,  in  1781,  granted  the  Reverend  Mr.  Bigelow  "for 
salary  the  ensuing  year  jCy4  in  specie ;  also  granted  for  a 
grammar  school  for  a  year  jCi2." 

Wages  for  manual  labor  were  very  low.  Massachusetts 
made  an  attempt  in  1630  to  regulate  the  scale  of  wages  by 
enacting  this  law : 

"  It  is  ordered  that  laborers  shall  not  take  above  1 2  pence 
a  day  for  their  work  and  not  above  6  pence  and  meat  and 
drink  under  pain  of  10  shillings  ;  no  master  carpenter,  mason, 
joiner,  or  bricklayer  shall  take  above  16  pence  a  day  for  their 
work,  if  they  have  meat  and  drink,  and  the  second  sort  not 
above  12  pence  a  day  under  pain  of  10  shillings,  both  to 
giver  and  receiver." 

These  regulations  lasted  about  sijt  months  and  were  then 
repealed,  but  towns  until  after  the  Revolution  passed  nu- 
merous votes  relative  to  wages. 

In  Sudbury,  about  1650,  it  was  "ordered  that  all  carpenters, 
bricklayers  and  thatchers  shall  have  one  and  twenty  pence 
for  a  day's  work,  and  common  laborers  eighteen  pence.  .  .  , 
That  one  shall  take  for  mowing  by  the  acre  fourteen  pence 
for  every  acre.  .  .  .  That  a  yearly  covenanted  servant,  the 
best  of  them,  shall  take  but  five  pounds  for  a  year's  service, 
and  maid  servants,  the  best,  shall  take  but  fifty  shillings  the 
year's  service."  As  late  as  175 1  the  town  voted  that  "for 
highway  work,  eight  hours  be  accounted  for  a  day's  work, 


I40  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

and  two  shillings  shall  be  the  price  of  a  day's  work,  one 
shilling  for  a  yoke  of  oxen,  three  pence  for  a  good  cart." 

Hartford  voted  :  "  Nor  any  day  laborer  above  i8d.  in  the 
winter  and  2s.  in  summer,  except  planting  time,  and  then 
not  above  2s.  6d.  a  day  ;  and  the  inferior  sort  under.  . ,  .  All 
day  laborers  which  work  without  doors  in  the  winter  shall  work 
nine  hours  for  one  day,  and  in  the  summer  eleven  hours." 

Lunenburg,  in  1742,  "voted  that  men  be  allowed  two 
shillings  per  day  from  this  day  to  the  last  day  of  September 
for  this  present  year,  and  one  shilling  and  six  pence  from 
then  to  the  first  day  of  March  next,  and  that  nine  pence  be 
allowed  for  a  pair  of  oxen  a  day  and  three  pence  for  a  cart." 
This  vote  was  in  May. 

In  Dudley,  in  1777,  the  scale  of  prices  was  fixed  by  a 
committee  and  the  selectmen,  "  Farmer's  labor,  middle  of 
the  summer,  3s.  per  day,  spring  and  fall,  2-4,  winter,  is.-8d. 
The  prices  of  entertainment  for  man  and  beast ;  for  a  meal 
of  boiled  and  roasted  victuals,  i  shilling,  and  for  a  meal  of 
common  pot-luck,  9  pence  for  a  man,  and  all  other  eating  to 
be  in  proportion  to  their  quantity  and  quality,  agreeably  to  the 
usual  customs." 

The  inability  of  towns  to  meet  their  financial  obligations 
made  it  necessary  to  reduce  all  expenses  to  the  lowest  limit. 
Many  votes  demanding  that  the  selectmen  and  committees 
should  obtain  schoolmasters  "  as  cheap  as  they  can  "  should 
not  be  charged  to  New  England  "  nearness  "  so  much  as 
to  the  attempt  to  live  within  their  means  and  still  obey  the 
educational  law. 

Maiden,  in  1703,  had  as  schoolmaster  one  Ezekiel  Jenkins 
at  " £z  for  the  year  and  the  benefit  of  the  scholars."  The 
next  year  his  price  was  thirty  shillings  and  the  benefit  of  the 
scholars.  He  continued  on  these  terms  until  he  died  in  1705. 
On  his  gravestone  are  these  words :  "  Maiden's  late  school- 
master from  a  painful  life  is  gone  to  take  his  rest.  His  Lord 
hath  called  him  home." 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  141 

This  benefit  of  scholars  was  fees  and,  in  some  cases,  light 
manual  labor.  Thirty  shillings  and  the  benefit  remained  in 
force  until  1709  when  one  Jacob  Wilson  accepted  the  place 
at  "  two  shillings,  paid  him  by  the  town,"  and  the  benefit. 
The  next  year  the  work  was  attempted  for  the  benefit  alone, 
but  was  soon  given  up. 

Framingham,  in  17 18,  appointed  a  committee  to  visit 
Mr.  Goddard,  who  had  previously  taught  their  school  at 
fifteen  pounds  per  year,  to  "'  see  upon  what  terms  he  will 
serve  the  town  as  schoolmaster  for  a  year ;  and  if  he  will 
serve  as  cheap  or  something  cheaper  than  another,  then  they 
are  to  make  a  bargain  with  him  for  a  full  year."  But  Abraham 
Cozzens  underbid  at  thirteen  pounds,  and  he  was  immediately 
hired  for  the  balance  of  that  year  and  all  of  the  next. 

At  Wallingford,  Connecticut,  in  1697,  the  selectmen  were 
ordered  to  procure  a  schoolmaster  "  as  cheap  as  they  can." 

North  Brookfield,  in  1728,  "  voted  to  agree  with  a  school- 
master for  but  one  half  a  year  at  first  and  to  be  left  with  the 
selectmen  to  agree  with  a  man  as  cheap  as  they  can." 

At  Waltham,  in  1738,  a  committee  of  two  were  ""  desired 
to  treat  with  Mr.  Timothy  Herrington  and  agree  with  him,  if 
they  can,  to  keep  the  school  for  one  quarter  of  a  year  as  cheap 
as  they  can." 

A  similar  intent  to  this  "cheap  as  they  can  "is  found  in 
another  form  of  vote. 

Norwalk,  Connecticut,  in  1701,  voted  to  have  a  school- 
master "  in  case  he  can  be  obtained  on  reasonable  terms." 

In  168 1  Dorchester  had  passed  a  like  vote:  "The  same 
day  it  was  voted  that  the  selectmen  are  empowered  to  look 
out  and  to  agree  with  a  schoolmaster  at  the  best  terms  that 
they  can  procure  one." 

Springfield  passed  two  votes,  one  in  1687,  "  It  being  also 
propounded  to  do  somewhat  to  have  schooling  go  forward  or 
to  get  a  schoolmaster,  it  was  agreed  and  ordered  that  the 
selectmen  do  take  care  to  promote  that  affair  to  the  best 


142  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

advantage 'for  the  town,  agreeing  with  a  schoolmaster  at  the 
best  terms  they  can"  ;  and  the  other  in  1690,  "  It  was  voted 
and  agreed  that  the  selectmen  do  use  their  diligent  care  to  pro- 
vide a  schoolmaster  to  teach  the  youth  and  children  to  read 
and  write  and  that  they  shall  have  full  power  to  agree  with 
any  meet  person  for  that  work,  and  to  indent  with  him  though 
they  give  or  engage  more  than  ;£20  or  the  sum  wherewith 
the  town  hath  sometimes  stinted  the  selectmen  for  their 
making  any  bargains  without  consulting  the  town." 

Occasionally  masters  were  hired  not  on  a  yearly  basis  but 
by  the  week.  At  Medfield,  in  1668,  a  writing  master  received 
ten  shillings  a  week  ;  Marlboro,  in  1696,  paid  eight  shillings 
a  week ;  Newton,  in  1 700,  hired  a  master  to  keep  school 
four  days  in  the  week  at  a  salary  of  two  shillings  a  day.  At 
Northampton,  in  1761,  "  Seth  Field  taught  school  during  the 
fall  and  winter  of  this  year  and  was  paid  by  the  town  10  shil- 
lings per  week."  In  1 780  Samuel  Reed  was  engaged  to  teach 
in  the  north  precinct  of  Weymouth  at  his  own  offer,  "  6  shil- 
lings per  week  in  money  or  its  equivalent  in  necessities  at 
prices  before  the  war," 

At  Milton,  in  1762,  a  schoolmaster  was  engaged  to  set 
copies  for  writing,  "'  and  the  said  selectmen  do  engage  in 
behalf  of  the  town,  that  he  shall  be  paid  for  so  doing,  one 
penny  for  each  copy  in  quarto,  he  bringing  his  account  to 
the  selectmen." 

These  variations  from  the  custom  of  a  yearly  rate  do  not 
appear  very  frequently,  however. 

Boarding  round,  or  "'  dieting  "  as  it  was  called  in  its  earliest 
days,  was  made  a  part  of  the  schoolmaster's  salary  in  a  desul- 
tory way  at  first,  but  finally  grew  into  an  establishedcustom. 

Though  "  diet "  is  mentioned  in  a  New  Haven  agreement 
in  165 1,  it  is  not  often  found  until  after  1700  and  then  only 
in  scattered  towns.  The  New  Haven  agreement  reads  :  "  The 
committee  appointed  the  last  Court  to  treat  and  agree  with 
the  schoolmaster  acquainted  the  Court  with  what  they  had 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  143 

done,  namely,  that  he  proposed  to  have  ;^20  a  year  and  the 
town  to  pay  for  his  chamber  and  diet,  which  they  have  agreed 
with  Mr.  Atwater  for  5  shillings  a  week.  That  he  have  liberty 
once  a  year  to  go  see  his  friends,  which  was  propounded  to 
be  in  harvest  time.  That  his  pay  be  goods  and  some  of  it 
such  as  wherewith  he  may  buy  books,  and  defray  charges  in 
his  travel.  That  if  he  be  called  away,  not  to  the  same  work, 
but  some  other  employment  which  may  be  for  the  honor  of 
Christ,  he  may  have  liberty ;  and  for  this  he  will  teach 
the  children  of  this  town,  having  the  benefit  of  strangers 
to  himself." 

Sandwich,  in  1709,  voted  the  schoolmaster  "the  sum  of 
;!^20  and  his  diet,  he  to  board  round."  The  next  year  it  was 
twenty  pounds,  and  it  was  provided  that  "  those  who  send 
shall  pay  additional  and  board."  This  continued  until  1713, 
when  it  was  voted  to  pay  '"  ^60  in  bills  of  credit  per  annum 
for  three  years."  In  175 1  the  salary  was  again  at  the  usual 
rate  for  a  grammar  schoolmaster  (twenty  pounds),  but  the  next 
year  a  schoolmaster  was  "  employed  to  teach  the  schools  at 
a  salary  of  ^{^26-1 3-4  lawful  money  and  board."  In  1758 
thirty-three  pounds  six  shillings  eight  pence  was  voted  and 
"  every  scholar  to  pay  additional  4d.  per  week." 

Gloucester,  in  171 1,  made  the  master's  salary  '";^8  per 
quarter  and  so  much  in  addition  as  he  should  be  obliged  to 
pay  above  four  shillings  a  week  for  his  board."  The  same 
year  Milton  engaged  a  master  for  three  months,  "'  and  for 
his  so  doing  he  is  to  have  ten  shillings  per  week  for  support- 
ing himself  unless  he  can  be  dieted  for  less  than  four  shillings 
per  week,  then  the  said  Paminter  is  to  abate  so  much  of  the 
ten  shillings  a  week  for  his  diet,  .  .  .  and  if  he  be  wanting  at 
any  tinie,  then  he  is  to  abate  proportionable  out  of  his  wages." 
Mendon,  in  171 2,  made  an  agreement  for  five  months,  stipu- 
lating that  the  master  "  shall  have  £$  P^id  him  for  his  service 
and  his  diet  the  said  time."  The  same  year  the  schoolmaster 
at  Yarmouth  "  was  allowed  ;^24  salary  and  5  shillings  per 


144  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

week  additional  for  board."  Three  years  later  the  salary  was 
twenty-six  pounds  "  and  the  like  sum  provided  for  board." 
At  Truro,  in  1 7 1 6,  an  engagement  was  made  with  the  school- 
master who  was  teaching  for  half  a  year  "  for  the  entire  year 
commencing  at  the  expiration  of  his  present  term  for  £40 
and  board  himself."  About  1730  the  town  voted  to  give  the 
schoolmaster  "for  keeping  school,  after  the  rate  of  ;^55,  in 
consideration  of  the  charge  he  has  been  to  in  supporting  the 
ancient  people  with  whom  he  has  lived  the  winter  past." 

In  17 16  the  schoolmaster  at  Braintree  agreed  to  keep  a 
reading  and  writing  school  "  one  half  a  year  for  six  shillings 
a  week  ($1)  and  his  diet."  The  next  year  "he  received 
eleven  shillings  ($1.83)  a  week,  he  furnishing  his  own  diet." 
Billerica,  in  17 18,  voted  "  to  give  but  four  shillings  per  week 
for  the  schoolmaster's  board  for  the  future."  Later  they  voted 
"  to  give  Mr.  Grimes  our  present  schoolmaster  jQ^o  for  one 
year,  provided  that  he  board  himself."  In  1727  Norton  paid 
the  master  twenty  pounds  a  year  and  his  diet.  They  paid  a 
bill  for  "  dieting  of  the  schoolmaster  fourteen  weeks  at  6  shil- 
lings a  week."  Wages  in  Wenham  about  this  time  varied 
somewhat,  but  were  equivalent  to  from  four  to  eight  dollars 
a  month  and  board. 

At  Leicester,  in  1739,  Mr.  Samuel  Coolidge  was  paid 
thirty-eight  pounds  for  teaching  a  grammar  school  for  six 
months.  "  This  sum,  although  an  advance  upon  former  wages 
of  school  teachers,  was  only  $1.32  per  week  ;  but  as  the  town 
provided  board  in  addition,  it  might  be  considered  a  fair  com- 
pensation when  a  laboring  man  was  allowed  33  cents  a  day 
for  himself  and  one  half  that  amount  for  a  yoke  of  oxen  on 
the  highway.  The  salary  of  the  minister  at  this  time  was 
^^150,  old  tenor,  or  $125." 

The  value  of  the  master's  board  is  indicated  by  these 
votes  at  Falmouth:  in  1742  voted  "that  he  who  shall  diet 
the  schoolmaster  shall  have  9  pence  a  week  of  the  last  emis- 
sion added  to  the  former  5  shillings  per  week  "  ;  and  in  1747 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  145 

voted  "  that  8  shillings  per  week  be  paid  for  dieting  the 
schoolmaster  and  no  more." 

Until  1747  the  schoolmasters  at  Northampton  boarded 
themselves.  In  that  year  the  town  paid  the  master's  board, 
though  there  is  no  vote  authorizing  it.  Fourteen  pounds 
seven  shillings  was  paid  for  board  from  October  to  April. 
After  this  the  board  of  all  masters  was  paid  by  the  town. 
Sudbury,  in  1 7  5 1 ,  engaged  a  schoolmaster  for  six  months 
"for  the  sum  of  ;^I2  exclusive  of  his  board."  In  1752 
Rochester,  New  Hampshire,  paid  fifteen  pounds  in  depreciated 
currency,  worth  about  ten  dollars,  for  teaching  school  sixteen 
weeks.  The  teacher  boarded  round  in  four  families,  one 
month  in  each,  at  thirty  cents  a  week.  The  treasurer's 
account  at  Weston  in  1753  contains  these  items:  "Paid 
schoolmaster  Cotton  for  his  last  quarter's  schooling,  ;!^6-i  3-4. 
Paid  Joseph  Bigelow  for  boarding  schoolmaster  Cotton,  three 
months,  ;!^3-9-4."  Duxbury,  in  1757,  paid  these  accounts: 
"Boarding  the  schoolmaster  13  weeks  if  he  makes  it  up, 
-?^3-9-4-    Boarding  schoolmaster  10  weeks,  ;^2-i3-4." 

At  Easton,  in  1754,  "the  town  then  voted  to  pay  for 
the  boarding  of  the  schoolmasters."  In  1759  the  grammar 
schoolmaster  received  six  pounds  per  quarter ;  masters  of 
English  received  less.  The  town  paid  the  board,  usually 
five  shillings  per  week.  Masters  were  expected  to  attend 
church,  and  one  was  voted  "  four  shillings  for  finding  him 
an  horse  to  ride  to  meeting." 

"  Before  the  Revolutionary  War  schoolmasters  received 
the  equivalent  of  about  one  dollar  and  a  half  a  week  besides 
their  board  which  was  paid  for  by  the  district.  In  1776, 
Samuel  Randall's  school  rick  hired  Solomon  Randall  to  teach 
school  at  six  dollars  a  month  and  the  said  Solomon  Randall 
to  board  himself." 

Raymond,  New  Hampshire,  in  1771,  "  pa'id  Benjamin 
Cram  for  dinnerin  Mr.  Hodgkins  ten  weeks,  16  shillings." 
This  gave  about  eight  cents  for  each  dinner. 


146  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

In  1772  two  months'  writing  school  in  Weston  cost  two 
pounds  ten  shillings ;  two  months'  winter  school  cost  two 
pounds  eight  shillings,  and  an  equal  sum  for  boarding  the 
master ;  while  another  master  received  seven  pounds  four 
shillings  "  for  keeping  a  winter  school  and  boarding  himself 
three  months."  At  Braintree,  "Joseph  Dyer  taught  in  1760 
two  months,  for  which  he  received  $5  a  month,  boarding 
himself  it  is  supposed,  as  no  payment  was  made  for  his 
board.  It  is  possible  he  may  have  been  boarded  by  the 
parents  of  the  children  who  attended  the  school."  For  twenty 
years  the  pay  was  generally  about  six  dollars  and  sixty-seven 
cents  per  month. 

In  1766  a  schoolmaster  in  Amherst  "taught  six  months 
or  more  in  the  year  for  three  years  ;  his  pay  was  32  shillings 
or  1^5-33  ^  month  and  his  board."  In  1774  writing  masters 
in  Framingham  were  paid  five  pounds  per  annum ;  six  shil- 
lings per  week  were  allowed  for  the  board  of  a  grammar 
schoolmaster,  and  five  shillings  for  a  writing  master. 
"  Northampton  gave  to  her  grammar  schoolmasters  who 
were  all  educated  men  only  $80  a  year  and  board  down  to 
the  Revolution."  But  "in  1779  the  town  voted  to  pay  Mr. 
Daniel  Babbitt  $100  continental  currency  per  month  and  his 
board  for  keeping  the  town  school."  In  1780  board  in  Cam- 
bridge was  fifty  to  fifty-five  pounds  per  week.  In  1781  it 
was  voted  "  Master  Whittemore's  account  of  ^^icxx)  in  old 
emission  to  be  paid  in  new  emission  at  one  for  forty."  In 
1783  a  schoolmaster  was  engaged  for  three  months  "at  the 
rate  of  jCso  per  annum  and  his  board  to  be  found  for  him, 
it  being  upon  the  same  terms  that  Mr.  Kendall  kept  it." 
At  Milton,  "in  1786,  Roger  Vose,  afterwards  Judge  Vose, 
kept  school  on  Brush  Hill  seven  weeks  for  jC^S-  Ebenezer 
Tucker  boarded  him  for  ^^2-2,  leaving  him  for  his  service  of 
seven  weeks" teaching  38  shillings  or  not  quite  5  1/2  shil- 
lings per  week."  In  18 17  Medford  masters  received  twenty 
dollars  per  month  and  board.    Amherst,  New  Hampshire, 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  147 

in  1778,  "agreed  with  Mr.  William  King  to  keep  a  town 
school  at  6  shillings  per  day  and  board  him."  They  evi- 
dently looked  for  a  cheaper  man,  for  three  months  later  it 
was  "agreed  with  Mr.  Brown  Emerson  to  keep  a  school  in 
this  town  at  35  shillings  per  quarter." 

In  1797  the  Dover  (New  Hampshire)  salary  for  a  reading 
school  was  ''  $16  per  month,  board  included."  In  1799  two 
masters  received  "  ^15.50,  board  included,"  and  another  re- 
ceived "  $8  per  month,  boarding  with  Elijah  Hussey  at  ^i 
per  week."  At  Dublin,  New  Hampshire,  in  1788,  the 
schoolmaster  "was  paid  for  two  months  jQ'^  4s.,  or  $8,67  a 
month,-  which  was  probably  higher  than  the  average  price. 
In  1790,  Samuel  Appleton  had  ^8  a  month  for  nine  weeks." 

Mr.  Appleton  writes  of  that  period  :  "  It  was  arranged  for 
the  schoolmaster  to  live  with  the  family  that  would  board  and 
lodge  him  the  cheapest.  Having  been  informed  where  I  was 
to  board,  I  set  out  for  my  new  home  on  foot,  carrying  the 
greater  part  of  my  wardrobe  on  my  back,  and  the  remainder 
tied  up  in  a  bandanna  handkerchief.  On  arriving  at  the 
place  of  my  destination  I  found  my  host  and  hostess,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Fairbanks,  ready  and  apparently  glad  to  see  me. 
They  were  to  receive  for  my  board,  lodging,  and  washing, 
6y  ^  per  week.  Their  house  was  made  of  logs  with  only  one 
room  in  it,  which  served  for  parlor,  kitchen  and  bedroom. 
I  slept  on  a  trundle  bed  which  during  the  day  was  wheeled 
under  the  large  bed,  where  the  master  and  mistress  of  the 
house  reposed  during  the  night." 

Hartford  district,  in  1825,  voted  "that  the  master  board 
around  with  the  scholars."  The  master  said,  "  Well,  I  know 
what  that  means,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  live  on  sgtm  all 
winter."  "  Squn  "  is  thus  described  :  "  When  the  farmer  kills 
his  hogs,  it  is  customary  to  fry  on  the  same  day  or  the  next, 
certain  portions  for  the  family  dinner,  consistirfg  of  the  liver, 
pancreas  or  sweetbread,  round  robin,  and  perhaps  the  kid- 
neys, possibly  some  of  the  thoracic  viscera  also.   This  was 


148  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

called  squn."  These  hogs  were  killed  as  the  master  went 
the  rounds,  so  that  there  would  be  fresh  meat  for  him. 

Besides  the  salary  some  masters  were  allowed  certain  per- 
quisites —  land,  schoolmaster's  lots,  and  dwellings.  The  only 
one  to  be  mentioned  in  this  connection  is  the  allowance  for 
horses ;  in  teaching  the  moving  school  this  sometimes  was 
included  as  a  part  of  the  agreement.  There  are  several  votes 
in  the  Dedham  records  bearing  on  this  point. 

In  1698,  "  Mr.  John  Fox  is  agreed  with  to  keep  the  school 
and  began  that  work  the  29th  of  August  and  to  receive 
jC^S  and  keej>  him  a  horsed  In  1700  in  settling  "their 
recompense  due  to  said  schoolmaster,  ;£6  and  15  shillings, 
13  shillings  thereof  is  for  keeping  his  horse  at  his  own 
charge."  Later,  in  1700,  "Sir  Prentis  began  to  keep  the 
school  and  is  to  receive  ^25  for  the  year  and  keeping  his 
horse  with  hay  and  grass."  In  1746  Samuel  Huntington, 
schoolmaster,  came  from  Lebanon,  Connecticut.  "  Agreed 
with  him  that  he  should  receive  £df  old  tenor  for  his  and 
his  horse's  time  and  expense  in  coming  down,  and  £,a,o  old 
tenor  and  his  board  for  his  keeping  of  school  six  months." 
In  1753,  "Joseph  Perry  was  paid  for  his  last  quarter  keep- 
ing school  in  Dedham,  and  for  paying  for  one  horse  journey 
agreed  on  to  Groton."  Glastonbury,  Connecticut,  in  1700, 
voted  "  Robert  Porg  to  be  schoolmaster,  £1  for  the  first 
quarter,  £2  for  the  second,  himself  and  horse  to  be  kept," 
At  Yarmouth,  in  1700,  "besides  his  salary,  provision  was 
made  for  keeping  his  horse." 

Low  as  these  salaries  were,  they  were  not  in  the  earlier 
years  all  paid  directly  by  taxation.  The  idea  that  the  parents 
of  the  children  should  bear  all  or  most  of  the  expense  was 
dominant,  and  this  resulted  in  various  tuition  rates.  There 
were  also  certain  rentals  or  endowments  which  were  applied 
to  the  schoolmaster's  salary.  I  wish  to  discuss  the  details  of 
most  of  the  forms  of  support  in  another  section,  but  such 
votes  as  bear  directly  on  the  master's  salary  are  placed  here. 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  149 

At  Guilford,  Connecticut,  in  1646,  "It  is  ordered  that 
whoever  shall  put  any  child  to  school  to  Mr.  Higginson 
shall  not  pay  for  less  than  a  quarter's  time  at  once  and 
so  shall  be  reckoned  with  all  quarterly,  though  they  have 
neglected  to  send  all  the  time,  at  the  rate  of  four  shillings 
by  thie  quarter  to  the  treasurer  "  ;  and  in  1668,  "  the  town 
voted  that  the  townsmen  should  seek  and  secure  a  school- 
master and  offer  him  £,  1 5  besides  what  will  arise  from  the 
children's  schooling."  Votes  in  Watertown  for  a  period  of 
nearly  fifty  years  attest  to  the  rate  paying  within  the  town 
and  also  to  some  regulation  with  reference  to  the  schooling  of 
children  not  belonging  to  the  town.  In  Watertown,  in  1653, 
"  The  town  and  Mr.  Richard  Norcross  are  agreed  that  the 
said  Mr.  Richard  shall  have  £,},o  for  keeping  a  school  this 
year  ensuing,  and  for  any  privilege  which  comes  of  strangers 
he  doth  refer  himself  unto  the  town  when  his  year  is  out." 
Later  it  was  "  agreed  that  Mr.  Richard  Norcross  should  have 
.;^3  as  a  gratuity  for  those  scholars  that  come  from  other 
towns  and  the  rest  to  return  to  the  use  of  the  town."  In 
1667  the  selectmen  "  agreed  with  Mr.  Richard  Norcross  to 
keep  school  for  the  year  ensuing  for  ^10  and  the  town 
agreed  that  the  school  should  be  free  to  all  the  settled  in- 
habitants :  children  that  their  friends  live  in  other  towns  to 
pay  as  before,  and  their  payment  to  be  deducted  out  of  the 
£,y:>  and  the  remainder  to  be  made  up  by  rate."  In  some 
cases  tuition  was  to  be  paid  for  certain  studies  and  by  pupils 
of  certain  classes,  and  whatever  was  obtained  in  this  manner 
was  deducted  from  the  sum  the  master  was  to  receive  from  the 
town.  In  1681  he  received  as  salary  ";^25  and  the  benefit 
of  Latin  scholars  over  and  above."  The  next  two  years  he 
"was  to  be  paid  for  scholars  not  of  the  town."  In  1685  it 
was  voted,  "  Those  that  send  children  to  school  to  pay  3d. 
per  week  for  each,  and  all  short  of  £,20  the  town  to  make 
up  to  Mr.  Norcross."  In  1690  "the  town  allowed  £1^ 
for  the  schoolmaster's  maintenance."    In  1696  "they  voted 


ISO  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

jCio  and  certain  privileges  if  Edward  Goddard  would  keep 
school."  In  1700  it  was  voted,  '"  If  Mr.  Goddard  will  keep 
school  the  year  ensuing,  to  grant  him  the  remainder  of  the 
jCio  granted  for  keeping  school  from  August  15,  1699, 
and  ;^io  more  for  the  year  ensuing,  and  the  rates  from  the 
parents  and  owners  of  children."  Evidently  Mr.  Goddard 
did  not  accept,  for  later  in  the  year  '"  Mr.  Norcross  was 
chosen  to  keep  school  for  ;^io  and  the  usual  rates  from 
parents."  Still  later  in  the  year  the  schoolmaster  was  "to 
have  jC 30  in  money."  In  1706  the  price  with  some  added 
duties  was  "  ;i^40  and  4d.  per  week  for  all  who  send  their 
children." 

Mr.  Corlett's  school  at  Cambridge  seems  never  to  have 
been  large,  nor  were  the  stated  fees  for  tuition  adequate  for 
his  support.  The  town  had  frequent  occasion  to  supply  the 
deficiency  by  special  grant.  In  1648  "it  was  agreed  at  a 
meeting  of  the  whole  town,  that  there  should  be  land  sold 
of  the  common,  for  the  gratifying  of  Mr.  Corlett  for  his 
pains  in  keeping  a  school  in  the  town,  the  sum  of  jCio,  if 
it  can  be  attained,  provided  it  shall  not  prejudice  the  cow 
common."  In  1649  three  men  "are  appointed  by  the  towns- 
men to  measure  out  unto  Mr.  Edward  Jackson  the  forty 
acres  of  land  formerly  sold  him  by  the  town  for  the  pay- 
ment of  Mr.  Corlett's  jCio  as  a  gratuity  from  the  town." 
Again,  January  29,  1654,  "the  town  consented  that  ^10 
should  be  levied  upon  the  inhabitants,  and  given  to  Mr. 
Corlett  for  his  present  encouragement  to  continue  with  us." 
In  1662  "the  townsmen,  taking  into  their  consideration 
the  equity  of  allowance  to  be  made  to  Mr.  Corlett  for  his 
maintenance  of  a  grammar  school  in  this  town,  especially 
considering  his  present  necessity  by  reason  of  the  fewness 
of  his  scholars,  do  order  and  agree  that  ;^io  be  paid  to  him 
out  of  the  public  stock  of  the  town." 

At  Wethersfield,  in  1658,  "it  was  ordered  by  the  town 
that  Mr.  Thomas  Lord  should  be  schoolmaster  for  the  year 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  151 

ensuing,  and  to  have  ^25  for  the  year,  and  also  the  use  of 
the  houselot  and  the  use  of  the  meadow  as  formerly."  New 
Haven,  in  i66o,  treated  with  a  Mr.  Peck  to  be  their  school- 
master, "who  propounded  unto  them  the  jCao  per  annum 
allowed  by  the  jurisdiction,  ;^io  per  annum  with  a  comfort- 
able house  for  his  dwelling  and  a  schoolhouse  and  the  benefit 
of  such  scholars  as  are  not  of  this  jurisdiction  and  such  part 
of  the  accommodations  belonging  to  the  house  lately  pur- 
chased of  Mr,  Kitchel  as  he  shall  desire,  with  some  liberty 
of  commonage,  all  of  which  the  town  consented  to."  At 
Northampton,  in  1664,  "  the  town  voted  to  give  Mr.  Cornish 
;£6  towards  the  school  and  to  take  the  benefit  of  the  scholars, 
provided  that  he  teach  six  months  in  the  year  together."  In 
1667  Weymouth  voted  William  Chard  "^3-10,  the  rent  of 
the  flats,  in  addition  to  his  other  pay."  Salem,  in  1668,  voted 
the  schoolmaster  five  pounds  "  for  his  encouragement  for 
teaching  of  children  for  the  year  ensuing."  In  1670  the 
schoolmaster  was  to  have  twen,ty  pounds  a  year  from  the 
town  "  in  such  pay  as  may  be  suitable  for  him ;  to  have  be- 
sides half  pay  for  all  scholars  of  the  town,  and  whole  pay 
from  strangers."  In  1677,  "'  He  is  to  receive  for  each  scholar 
20s.  a  year,  and  if  this  is  not  enough  to  make  jC^o,  the 
selectmen  will  make  up  this  sum,  or  if  more  than  enough, 
to  have  it  and  the  price  of  tuition  for  scholars  out  of  town." 
Newbury,  in  1675,  appointed  a  schoolmaster  to  have  ";^5 
for  the  first  half  year  and  to  have  6d.  a  week  for  every 
scholar."  In  1677  the  salary  was  twenty  pounds  plus  "what 
they  shall  agree  upon  for  the  children  that  shall  come  to 
school  to  him."  In  1695  the  town  voted  "  to  give  Mr.  Chris- 
topher Toppan  ;^20  yearly  in  money  and  ;^300  a  year  in 
good  country  pay  so  long  as  he  carries  on  one  half  of  the 
ministry  among  them  and  jCso  a  year  so  long  as  he  shall 
keep  a  grammar  school,  the  scholars  to  pay  as  they  did  Mr. 
Clarke."  In  1696  the  town  offered  Mr.  Nicholas  Webster 
thirty  pounds  a  year  in  country  pay  to  keep  a  "grammar 


152      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

school,  provided  he  demand  but  4d.  per  week  for  Latin 
scholars  and  teach  the  town's  children  to  read,  write  and 
cypher  without  pay."  Hadley,  in  1676,  paid  the  school- 
master thirty  pounds,  "  a  part  from  the  school  estate,  and 
the  rest  from  the  scholars  and  town,"  At  Billerica,  in  1679, 
a  Mr.  Thompson  became  schoolmaster  and  continued  for 
more  than  thirty  years  ;  there  is  no  record  that  he  was  ever 
paid  any  salary  until  17 10,  when  he  was  paid  one  pound,  and 
the  same  the  next  year.  Though  there  is  nothing  recorded, 
it  is  very  evident  that  his  salary  was  paid  by  the  tuition  rates 
from  the  children.  At  Norwich,  in  1679,  ""  It  is  agreed  and 
voted  by  the  town  that  Mr.  Daniel  Mason  shall  be  improved 
as  a  schoolmaster  for  the  town  for  nine  months  in  the  year 
ensuing  and  to  allow  him  £2^,  to  be  partly  by  the  children, 
and  each  child  that  is  entered  for  the  full  year  to  pay  nine 
shillings,  and  other  children  that  come  occasionally  to  allow 
three  pence  per  week  ;  the  rest  to  be  paid  by  the  town." 

Springfield  furnishes  a  very  interesting  record  with  refer- 
ence to  this  combination  of  tuition,  rent,  and  town  allowance. 
In  1677,  "  further,  the  admittance  and  entertainment  of 
William  Madison  as  a  schoolmaster  was  voted,  he  being  to 
take  three  pence  for  those  he  teaches  only  to  read  English, 
and  four  pence  per  week  for  those  he  teaches  both  to  read 
and  write,  as  also  four  pence  per  week  for  those  he  teaches 
only  to  write,  and  the  parents  or  persons  are  to  allow  no  more  ; 
but  the  town  for  this  year  as  an  encouragement  to  him  in  this 
work  do  agree  and  promise  to  allow  him  the  rent  of  the  town 
land  in  Chicopee."  In  1678  "  it  was  voted  and  concluded 
to  give  Mr.  Daniel  Denton  p^20  salary  for  his  encouragement 
in  the  work  of  a  schoolmaster  for  the  present  year,  he  con- 
tinuing in  that  work  the  term  of  an  whole  year,  or  in  case  it 
should  so  fall  out  that  Mr.  Denton  attend  not  that  work  the 
winter  season,  then  the  vote  of  the  inhabitants  was  to  give 
him  jC  1 2  and  to  allow  him  time  to  plant  and  dress  two  acres  of 
Indian  com,  in  case  he  cannot  provide  it  to  be  done  for  him 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  153 

for  his  money.  In  this  work  the  parents  and  masters  of  such 
as  send  their  children  or  servants  being  to  allow  to  the  town 
according  to  the  manner  of  their  allowance  to  the  school- 
master the  year  past."  In  1679  "it  was  further  voted  and 
concluded  that  Mr.  Daniel  Denton  shall  have  the  profits  of 
the  town's  lands  at  Chicopee  and  ;^io  per  annum,  besides 
the  allowance  that  the  schoolmaster  according  to  town  order 
or  agreement  is  to  have  of  all  such  as  send  their  children  or 
servants."  In  1683,  "At  this  meeting  it  was  voted,  con- 
cluded and  unanimously  approved  that  Mr.  John  Richards,  as 
he  hath  begun  to  teach  the  town's  children,  so  that  he  should 
go  on  in  this  good  and  necessary  work,  and  be  the  school- 
master, and  the  town  doth  leave  it  with  the  selectmen  to 
agree  with  him  about  his  stipend,  as  also  to  determine  what 
parents  and  masters  shall  allow  for  the  teaching  of  their 
children  and  servants,  and  that  the  supply  for  the  making  of 
the  schoolmaster's  stipend  shall  be  made  by  the  town." 
In  1685  "it  was  further  voted  and  concluded  to  invite 
Mr.  Richards,  the  schoolmaster,  to  continue  with  us  the  next 
year,  to  keep  school,  and  that  the  selectmen  do  indent  with 
him  for  the  salary.  It  was  further  agreed  that  all  parents  or 
householders  be  enjoined  to  send  their  children  and  serv- 
ants and  that  all  persons  from  the  Round  Hill  to  the  Mill 
River  that  do  not  send  their  children  that  are  above  five  years 
and  under  nine  years,  that  said  persons  pay  for  such  children 
for  the  space  of  half  a  year  after  the  rate  of  two  pence  per 
week."  In  1690  "it  was  further  voted  and  agreed  that  all 
children  from  five  years  old  to  ten  years  old  complete  shall 
be  by  their  parents  sent  to  school,  and  if  not,  their  parents 
shall  pay  or  be  rated  for  all  such  children  to  the  schoolmaster, 
as  if  such  children  were  sent  by  their  parents  or  masters. 
This  is  to  be  understood  of  such  as  live  in  the  town  plat  from 
the  mill  on  the  south  up  to  Nathaniel  Mun's  house  or  there- 
abouts." In  1698,  "  Voted  that  Mr.  Joseph  Smith  keep  school 
till  the  14th  of  January  next  ensuing,  and  those  scholars  as 


154  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

have  gone  to  him  to  school  pay  towards  it  and  the  rest  the 
town  pay." 

In  1697  Hadley  voted  "that  there  should  be  a  constant 
school  in  Hadley  ;  the  teacher  to  be  paid  wholly  by  the  school 
committee  and  the  town  rate,"  But  this  did  not  continue. 
Men  who  had  no  children  to  send  were  dissatisfied  and  the 
town  voted  in  March,  1699,  "that  one  half  of  what  the  school 
estate  did  not  pay  should  be  paid  by  the  scholars."  Braintree, 
in  1679,  voted  "that  Mr.  Benjamin  Thompson,  school- 
master, shall  have  for  his  salary  this  year  the  rent  of  the 
town  land  made  up  to  jCso."  In  1701  the  payment  of  the 
teacher's  salary  was  in  part  by  the  scholars  and  the  balance 
by  a  direct  town  tax.  The  same  year  it  was  voted  "that 
the  rent  of  the  town  lands  formerly  paid  to  the  school  shall 
continue  as  part  of  the  salary  ;  that  the  parent  or  master  that 
shall  send  any  scholar  or  scholars  to  said  school  shall  pay 
for  each  scholar  to  the  town  treasurer  for  the  support  of  the 
school  five  shillings  a  year,  and  proportionably  for  any  part 
of  it ;  that  any  person  or  persons  living  out  of  town  who  shall 
send  any  scholar  or  scholars  to  the  aforesaid  school  shall  pay 
twenty  shillings  a  year  to  the  town  treasurer  and  proportionably 
for  any  part  of  it ;  .  .  .  that  what  the  rent  of  the  town  lands 
and  the  head  money  of  the  scholars  shall  fall  short  of  the 
schoolmaster's  salary  shall  be  raised  by  a  town  rate  equally 
proportioned  upon  the  inhabitants  of  the  town,"  At  New 
London,  in  1698,  the  schoolmaster's  salary  was  ''jC^S  P^r 
annum  with  a  gift  of  ten  acres  of  land  in  fee,  over."  In  1692 
Reading  "  ordered  that  the  money  received  from  the  sale  of 
the  old  meeting  house  should  be  paid  over  to  Mr.  Brown  in 
part  compensation  for  the  school." 

At  Marblehead,  in  1698,  Josiah  Cotton  was  the  school- 
master. The  town  agreed  to  pay  him  fifteen  pounds  a  year 
for  his  services  and  he  received  "  six  pence  and  a  groat  a 
week  "  from  each  of  the  scholars  who  attended  the  school.  At 
Rowley,  until  about  1700,  schoolmasters  received  five  pounds 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  155 

and  rates  from  the  scholars.  At  Wenham,  in  1700,  the  select- 
men bargained  with  a  schoolmaster,  that "  he  be  allowed  by  the 
town  his  proportion  of  rates  to  county  and  town  for  the  year 
ensuing  from  this  time,  besides  what  he  shall  have  of  those 
that  he  shall  so  learn  to  read  and  write."  The  town  agreed 
to  this  action  of  the  selectmen  and  also  voted  "  if  what  the 
scholars  shall  pay  for  their  learning  shall  not  be  sufficient 
satisfaction  for  the  master  that  shall  keep  such  school,  the 
selectmen  are  empowered  to  make  such  further  satisfaction 
to  said  schoolmaster  as  in  equity  and  justice  shall  be  con- 
venient." At  Eastham,  in  1700,  "it  was  voted  to  continue 
the  town  school  and  to  pay  the  teacher  lod.  per  week  for  each 
pupil  attending."  Norwalk,  Connecticut,  in  1701,  voted 
"'  the  scholars  to  pay  ;!{^i  5  and  the  remainder  of  the  charging 
of  the  schoolmaster's  salary  shall  be  paid  by  the  town  ac- 
cording to  their  list  of  estates  in  the  public  list  of  the  colony." 
Lynn,  in  1702,  allowed  for  the  maintenance  of  a  grammar 
master  ten  pounds  and  the  tuition  rates.  Plymouth  in  the 
early  years  varied  the  payment :  sometimes  the  town  paid 
a  fixed  salary  to  the  master ;  at  other  times  he  received  an 
agreed-upon  price  for  each  scholar,  and  the  deficiency  was 
made  up  by  the  town.  Colchester,  Connecticut,  in  1709, 
'"  voted  to  hire  Thomas  Brown  to  keep  school  two  or  three 
months  and  to  pay  him  20  and  4  shillings  per  month,  as 
money,  to  be  paid  the  one  half  out  of  the  county  rate,  and 
the  other  half  to  be  paid  by  the  parents  of  the  scholars." 

An  early  Beverly  schoolmaster's  agreement  with  the  select- 
men was  "  to  teach  ordinary  learning  according  to  the  utmost 
of  his  ability,  and  to  take  a  faithful  account  and  receive  pay 
according  to  ordinary  rates."  His  first  contract  was  for  the 
year,  and  if  the  payments  of  the  scholars  did  not  amount  to 
twenty  pounds,  the  town  was  to  meet  the  deficiency ;  and  if  the 
payments  exceeded  that  sum,  he  was  to  pay  the  surplus  to  the 
town.  He  continued  to  keep  the  school  for  several  years. 
In  1 7 16  a  man  agreed  to  keep  school  in  Framingham  for 


156  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

fifteen  pounds,  "'  provided  that  those  that  send  any  children 
to  be  instructed  at  my  dweUing  house  to  pay  6d,  per  head 
f)er  week."  Duxbury,  in  1730,  voted  "that  Thomas  Burton 
should  keep  their  school  the  year  ensuing  or  so  much  of  said 
year  as  he  shall  tarry  in  said  town  and  not  remove  out  of  it, 
and  also  voted  that  said  Thomas  Burton  should  not  receive 
pay  from  the  town  for  the  time  he  did  attend  keeping  the  said 
school."  This  meant  that  he  must  depend  on  tuition  fees. 
Middletown,  Connecticut,  in  1745,  appointed  a  committee 
"to  agree  with  the  schoolmaster  and  set  price  what  the 
weekly  schooling  shall  be  of  the  several  sorts,  and  said 
schoolmaster  to  keep  a  true  account  of  all  weekly  schooling, 
and  if  the  weekly  schooling  and  the  income  of  the  land  do 
not  make  up  the  sum  agreed  for,  then  it  shall  be  paid  by  the 
town."  Boston,  in  1753,  "voted  that  Mr.  Samuel  Holbrook 
be  appointed  writing  master  at  the  school  in  Queen  Street, 
to  be  allowed  pC6o  per  annum,  and  also  allowed  to  improve 
the  school  for  his  own  advantage  out  of  school  hours  and  to 
be  entitled  to  the  perquisites  of  the  school  (the  fire  money 
excepted)," 

Towns  had  difficulty  in  collecting  taxes,  and  schoolmasters 
had  at  times  corresponding  difficulty  in  collecting  their  salaries. 
This  again,  like  the  amount  of  salary,  must  be  charged  not 
to  indisposition  to  pay  but  rather  to  inability.  People  and 
towns  were  poor,  but  everywhere  there  seemed  to  be  the 
desire  to  deal  fairly  with  the  schoolmaster.  When  John  Vinal, 
an  usher  in  the  South  Writing  School  in  Boston,  petitioned 
the  town  "  that  an  allowance  may  be  made  him  in  considera- 
tion of  the  straits  and  difficulties  he  has  been  reduced  to  by 
means  of  the  smallpox,"  the  town  voted  him  fifteen  pounds. 
An  analysis  of  the  actions  of  towns  already  given  shows  a 
constant  tendency  to  be  fair,  even  liberal,  under  all  their 
stringencies.  These  suits,  complaints,  and  petitions  need  to  be 
interpreted  in  proper  terms  applicable  to  their  times  ;  modem 
terms  do  not  give  the  proper  solution.   John  Legat,  elected 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  157 

at  Hampton,  New  Hampshire,  as  the  first  school-master,  in 
1649,  was  obUged  to  sue  the  selectmen  the  next  year  in  an 
action  of  debt  "  for  schooling  and  other  writings  done  for  the 
town."  John  Barsham,  after  1662,  sued  for  twenty-six  pounds, 
"  due  by  bill  in  consideration  of  keeping  school  in  Hampton  in 
1 66 1  and  1662  and  for  due  damages."  The  jury  found  for 
the  plaintiff  twenty-nine  pounds'  damages  and  costs  of  court. 
An  illustration  of  the  difficulty  in  collecting  is  this  from 
Dedham,  in  1660:  "John  Fayrebanke  came  this  day  and 
brought  the  rate  made  for  the  payment  of  Jacob  Farrowe, 
sometimes  schoolmaster  in  Dedham,  and  informed  that  there 
is  a  considerable  part  of  that  payment  yet  due  from  several 
persons,  and  that  he,  the  said  John,  is  assigned  to  receive 
the  said  debts.  It  is  therefore  proposed  that  some  effectual 
course  be  taken  by  the  town  that  the  said  debt  be  speedily 
paid  according  to  agreement."  In  1666  Ezekiel  Cheever 
presented  certain  "  motions,"  to  the  selectmen  of  Charles- 
town,  among  which  was  this  :  "  Secondly,  that  they  would 
take  care  that  his  yearly  salary  be  paid,  the  constables  being 
much  behind  with  him."  He  had  similar  trouble  in  Boston, 
for  in  1689  the  town  "ordered  that  Capt.  Townsend  pay 
Mr.  Ezekiel  Cheever  ;;^  10,  part  of  the  arrears  due  to  him  from 
the  town."  And  again  in  1693,  "  Ordered  that  Mr.  Ezekiel 
Cheever  and  the  other  schoolmasters  be  paid  quarterly  and 
that  orders  be  passed  to  the  treasurer  for  it.  Mr.  Ezekiel 
Cheever's  salary  to  be  £,60  in  money,  and  that  Mr.  Nathaniel 
Oliver  be  discharged  from  all  former  dues  for  the  marsh  hired 
of  the  town  upon  this  payment  of  the  present  quarter's  rent 
to  Mr.  Cheever."  Previous  to  this  he  had  appealed  to  the 
Governor  in  this  manner : 

"  To  his  Excellency,  Sir  Edmund  Andros  : 

"  The  humble  petition  of  Ezekiel  Cheever,  the  Boston 
schoolmaster,  sheweth  that  your  poor  petitioner  hath  near 
fifty  years  been  employed  in  the  work  and  office  of  a  public 


158  .EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

grammar  schoolmaster  in  several  places  in  this  country,  with 
what  acceptance  and  success  I  submit  to  the  judgment  of 
those  that  arc  able  to  testify.  Now  seeing  that  God  is  pleased 
mercifully  yet  to  continue  my  wonted  abilities  of  mind,  health 
of  body,  vivacity  of  spirit,  delight  in  my  work,  which  alone  I 
am  any  way  fit  and  capable  of,  and  whereby  I  have  my  out- 
ward subsistence,  I  most  humbly  entreat  your  Excellency  that 
according  to  your  former  kindness,  so  often  manifested,  I  may, 
by  your  Excellency's  favor,  allowance  and  encouragement,  still 
be  continued  in  my  present  place.  And  whereas  there  is  due 
to  me  about  jCsS  for  i^iy  labors  past,  and  the  former  way  of 
that  part  of  my  maintenance  is  thought  good  to  be  altered,  I 
with  all  submission  beseech  your  Excellency  that  you  would 
be  pleased  to  give  orders  for  my  due  satisfaction,  the  want  of 
which  would  fall  heavy  upon  me  in  my  old  age,  and  my  chil- 
dren also,  who  are  otherwise  poor  enough.  And  your  poor 
petitioner  shall  ever  pray,  etc. 

"  Your  Excellency's  most  humble  servant, 
"  Ezekiel  Cheever." 

There  is  this  recorded  of  Northampton  in  1694:  "At  a 
legal  town  meeting  the  town,  considering  that  there  was 
money  due  to  Mr.  Stevens  for  keeping  school,  as  by  the 
return  of  a  committee  who  were  chosen  to  enquire  into  the 
matter  did  appear,  the  town  then  voted  that  those  companies 
of  selectmen  in  the  several  years  that  they  were  in  office 
which  indented  with  said  Mr.  Stevens  should  take  effectual 
care  in  that  matter,  to  see  that  he  had  his  pay  according 
to  what  they  agreed  for.  And  also  to  see  what  was  behind  in 
Mr.  Timothy  Edwards  his  dues,  those  selectmen  who  hired 
him  to  take  care  truly  to  pay  him  his  dues  and  so  from  time 
to  time." 

In  1696  "  it  was  voted  by  the  inhabitants  of  Braintree  that 
Mr.  Benjamin  Thompson,  having  many  years  kept  a  grammar 
school  in  the  said  town,  should,  beside  the  incomes  of  the  town 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  159 

land  and  rents  thereof,  have  ^^lo  added  by  way  of  salary  for 
keeping  the  grammar  school  for  the  year  1696  ;  he  acquitting 
and  fully  discharging  the  town  from  all  former  debts  or  arrear- 
ages to  this  day  on  that  account,  excepting  what  he  may  or 
can  obtain  in  any  of  the  rates  or  constables'  hands,  which  is 
yet  due.  Benjamin  Thompson  entered  dissent."  Boston,  in 
1 70 1,  "ordered  that  Mr.  Richard  Hinksman  have  a  note  for 
^22  for  his  last  half  year's  salary  and  rent  of  the  schoolhouse." 
The  next  year  he  was  paid  again  by  note.  In  Dedham,  in  1 705, 
"  This  djy  John  Deane,  late  constable,  came  to  the  selectmen 
and  gave  an  account  that  he  had  money  by  him  which  he  had 
gathered  of  the  school  rate  in  the  time  when  it  passed  with- 
out weighing,  which  the  schoolmaster  refused  to  receive  at  the 
value  said  constable  had  received,  thereupon  the  selectmen  did 
order  said  constable  to  bring  in  the  money  to  William  Avery, 
Senior,  to  receive  it  by  tale  and  pay  it  to  said  schoolmaster 
by  weight." 

Boston  seems  to  have  been  in  constant  difficulty  over  her 
finances,  for  in  1705  it  was  "ordered  that  the  treasurer 
take  care  for  the  payment  of  the  several  schoolmasters,  out 
of  the  first  money  he  can  procure."  In  Portland,  in  1731, 
there  is  a  record  of  an  execution  levied  against  the  town  by 
Cornelius  Bennett,  "  the  former  schoolmaster,  whose  execu- 
tion is  to  be  satisfied."  In  the  town  warrant  at  Dudley,  in 
1743,  Article  IV  read:  "For  the  town  to  come  into  some 
method  to  pay  the  schoolmaster  for  his  labor  in  schooling  our 
children  the  winter  past,  either  by  raising  the  money  for  the 
same,  or  to  convert  the  ^^30  raised  some  time  past  for  school- 
ing our  children  to  answer  now  as  far  as  it  will  go."  This 
thirty  pounds  was  appropriated  for  schooling  in  1740,  but 
seemingly  was  never  used.  At  the  meeting  it  was  voted 
"that  the  money  that  was  granted  some  time  past  for 
schooling  our  children  shall  be  collected  and  paid  into  the 
town  treasury  to  pay  Mr.  May  for  his  service  in  schooling 
our  children  the  winter  past." 


i6o  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Boston,  in  1762,  furnished  another  proof  of  the  difficulty  in 
paying  schoolmasters.  Several  of  the  masters  presented  a  peti- 
tion "setting  forth  that  they  met  with  great  difficulties  in  ob- 
taining payment  of  the  several  salaries  which  the  town  has  been 
pleased  to  assign  them,  that  notwithstanding  a  vote  formerly 
passed  for  their  payment  quarterly,  they  have  been  to  their 
great  distress  kept  out  of  their  pay  from  year  to  year,  and  for 
what  they  do  receive  at  any  time  they  are  obliged  to  the  friend- 
ship of  particular  gentlemen,  who  are,  by  the  kind  permission 
of  the  collectors,  willing  to  pay  their  taxes  into  th^r  hands ; 
that  your  petitioners  have  some  of  them  nine,  some  twelve, 
and  some  eighteen  months'  salary  due  to  them,  that  they  are 
informed  that  the  greatest  part  of  the  taxes  belonging  to  the 
town  is  already  paid  in  or  engaged  to  others,  so  that  they  have 
no  prospect  of  any  further  payment  till  the  new  taxes  are  issued, 
which  it  is  probable  will  not  be  done  till  some  time  in  the  next 
winter ;  that  this  delay  of  payment  obliges  them  to  purchase 
the  necessaries  of  life  at  a  disadvantage  upon  long  credit  or 
to  become  troublesome  to  their  friends  by  borrowing  money 
for  their  support,  not  to  mention  the  continual  solicitude  and 
anxiety  which  such  dependent  circumstances  necessarily  cre- 
ate." It  was  "voted  to  borrow  money  to  pay  the  schoolmasters 
and  to  allow  them  interest  on  their  unpaid  accounts." 

Further  difficulties  are  indicated  in  1779,  when  a  com- 
mittee reported  they  "  are  sorry  to  observe  the  just  com- 
plaints of  the  schoolmasters  on  account  of  their  not  receiving 
in  season  the  sums  which  are  granted  them,  and  recommend 
unto  the  town  that  some  method  may  be  taken  that  they  be 
timely  paid  in  future,  or  at  least  interest  may  be  allowed  them 
for  any  deficiency,  to  enable  them  to  pay  on  interest  for 
what  they  are  obliged  to  borrow  for  their  daily  support." 

For  several  years  previous  to  1780  the  schoolmaster  at 
Marblehead  had  been  Mr.  Peter  Jayne.  He  complained  that 
his  salary  was  not  sufficient  for  the  support  of  his  family  and 
he  was  granted  sixteen  hundred  pounds  in  paper  money  for 


SCHOOLMASTERS'  SALARIES  i6i 

six  months'  teaching.  He  had  difficulty  in  collecting  this, 
and  made  a  new  complaint  that  it  did  not  prevent  him  "'  from 
being  troublesome  to  his  friends  for  a  living."  In  1781  the 
town  voted  him  a  salary  of  seventy  pounds  a  year,  "  hard 
money."  About  1790  Boston  was  again  paying  the  school- 
masters in  town  orders.  These  were  generally  sold  at  a  dis- 
count. Finally  one  master,  Mr.  Caleb  Bingham,  advertised 
"  a  town  order  for  sale  at  a  liberal  discount."  At  a  town 
meeting  soon  after  he  was  ordered  to  apologize.  He  said : 
"  I  have  a  family  and  need  the  money.  I  have  done  my  part 
of  the  engagement  faithfully  and  have  no  apology  for  those 
who  have  failed  to  do  theirs.  All  I  can  do  is  to  promise  that 
if  the  town  will  punctually  pay  my  salary  in  future,  I  will 
never  advertise  their  orders  for  sale  again." 

At  Charlestown,  in  1792,  it  is  recorded  :  "  The  committee 
appointed  upon  the  memorial  of  Mr.  Payson,  the  schoolmaster, 
have  attended  that  service  and  find  that  Mr.  Payson  has  lost 
;^50  in  consequence  of  being  obliged  to  sell  his  warrants  for 
less  than  their  nominal  value  in  order  to  subsist  himself  and 
family."  He  was  reimbursed  by  the  town  and  twenty  pounds 
added  to  his  yearly  salary.  The  following  receipt  shows  a  new 
phase  ;  I  have  found  no  such  record  elsewhere  : 

"  Roxbury,  April  8,  1773. 

"  Received  of  Col.  Williams  of  the  feoffees  of  the  grammar 
school  a  bag  of  coppers  weighing  thirty-four  pounds  in  part 
of  my  salary  for  the  year  current,  the  same  being  by  esti- 
mation ;^4-i3-4  lawful  money,  and  for  which  I  am  to  be 
accountable,  I  say  received  in  part,  John  Eliot." 

The  life  of  the  early  schoolmaster  was  not  all  joy.  He 
could  not  say  of  wisdom,  "  Her  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness, 
and  all  her  paths  are  peace."  The  life  was  one  of  toil,  with 
slender  and  precarious  compensation.  It  was  typical  of  the 
times,  however,  in  which  he,  as  well  as  every  other  man,  must 
bear  his  share  of  the  burden  in  developing  a  new  country. 


VI 

THE  DAME  SCHOOL  AND  THE  SCHOOL  DAME 

The  dame  school  existed  in  three  forms :  the  private 
neighborhood  dame  school,  early  present  in  every  town, 
accounts  of  which  are  rare  and  practically  unobtainable  as 
they  do  not  appear  on  the  public  records  ;  the  semipublic 
dame  school,  under  sanction  of  the  town,  with  some  slight 
assistance  from  the  town  treasury,  but  mainly  dependent  on 
the  tuition  of  the  pupils ;  and  the  real  public  dame  school, 
finally  merging  into  the  regular  summer  school  with  a  woman 
teacher,  and  then  into  the  public  primary  school. 

The  dame  school  was  a  necessity  of  the  times.  Boys  were 
not  generally  admitted  to  the  master's  school  until  they  could 
"  stand  up  and  read  words  of  two  syllables  and  keep  their 
places  "  ;  girls  were  not  admitted  at  all.  The  teaching  of  the 
simple  rudiments  was  made  a  family,  not  a  public,  matter. 
Schools  were  not  established  in  many  towns  until  a  gener- 
ation after  their  settlement.  The  struggle  for  shelter,  for 
food,  for  the  church,  precluded  much  attention  to  the  school. 
The  necessary  rudiments  had  to  be  supplied  by  the  family, 
and  out  of  this  necessity  the  dame  school  began.  It  was  a 
common  occurrence  for  some  mother  in  teaching  her  own 
children  to  include  other  children  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood. A  typical  account  is  this  from  Northfield :  "  The 
wife  of  Ebenezer  Field,  the  smith,  was  the  first  teacher  in 
town  of  whom  a  record  exists.  In  1721  she  taught  a  class 
of  young  children  at  her  own  house  for  twenty-two  weeks  of 
the  warm  season,  and  charged  four  pence  per  week.  She 
educated  her  own  children  well ;  her  eldest  daughter,  Joanna, 
was  the  noted  schoolmarm  of  the  next  generation.   Mrs.  Field 

162 


THE  DAME  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DAME  163 

was  a  woman  of  great  energy  and  versatility.  We  get  but 
two  glimpses  of  her  life  ;  the  first  when  she  is  keeping 
school,  making  shirts  for  the  Indians  at  eight  pence  each, 
making  breeches  for  Ensign  Field,  her  husband's  brother,  at 
one  shilling  six  pence  per  pair,  besides  managing  her  house- 
hold with  four  young  children." 

When  the  Indians  attacked  Deerfield,  September,  1694, 
it  is  stated  that  "  Mrs.  Hannah  Beaman,  the  school  dame, 
with  her  young  flock  on  the  home  lot  next  northward,  started 
for  the  fort.  It  was  a  race  for  life  ;  the  dame  with  her  charge 
up  the  street,  the  enemy  up  the  parallel  swamp  on  the  east 
to  intercept  them  before  they  should  reach  the  gate.  Fear 
gave  wings  to  the  children ;  the  fort  was  reached  in  safety 
and  the  gate  shut." 

In  Freeland's  "  Oxford  "  is  a  glimpse  of  another  of  these 
private  schools  :  "  The  first  dame  school  in  Oxford  of  which 
there  is  any  tradition  was  taught  by  Miss  Betty  Jermer.  Miss 
Betty's  home  was  about  one  mile  easterly  of  the  old  north 
common ;  here  there  was  no  open  road,  only  a  bridle  path 
passed  the  house,  with  gate  ways  or  bar  places  for  an  oc- 
casional traveler  to  pass  through  ;  whenever  the  sound  of  a 
horse's  hoof  was  heard  Miss  Betty  and  her  pupils  presented 
themselves  at  the  door  and  passed  their  salutations.  There 
was  a  heavy  stone  chimney  to  the  house  and  a  deep  cavern- 
like  fireplace,  which  in  winter  presented  a  cheerful  fireside 
with  its  heavy  log  fire.  The  floor  was  scoured  to  whiteness 
and  covered  with  the  finest  sand.  Her  instruction  in  arith- 
metic was  oral.  Miss  Betty  making  the  figures  on  the  sanded 
floor  with  her  rod,  for  teachers  were  thus  armed  in  those 
days,  and  her  pupils,  with  their  square  pieces  of  birch  bark 
and  bits  of  charcoal,  copying  the  sums  she  gave  them. 

'"  The  children,  having  walked  long  distances,  were  made 
very  comfortable  at  the  long  recess,  as  their  dinners  were  many 
times  frozen,  and  sometimes  their  food  required  cooking. 
Miss  Betty  was  devoted  in  her  care  for  them  in  preparing 


1 64  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

their  frugal  repast.  Apples  were  roasted  and  nuts  were 
cracked  in  profusion,  and  then  with  their  old-fashioned 
games  they  had  an  enjoyable  time." 

The  dame  school  existed  in  New  Haven  as  early  as  165 1, 
for  there  is  a  record  of  a  little  girl  brought  into  court  in  that 
year  for  "  prophane  swearing."  She  was  charged  with  using 
such  expressions  as  "by  my  soul "  and  "  as  I  am  a  Chris- 
tian." At  the  trial  her  mother  testified  that  "  she  had 
learned  some  of  her  ill-carriage  at  Goodwife  Wickham's, 
where  she  went  to  school." 

Sudbury,  in  1680,  in  a  report  on  educational  matters,  men- 
tions "two  school  dames,  one  each  side  of  the  river,"  but 
they  were  evidently  supported  by  the  parents,  not  by  the  town, 
as  no  mention  of  them  is  found  in  the  town  records.  Samuel 
Sewall's  diary  for  1687  contains  this  entry,  "  That  day  Dame 
Walker  is  taken  so  ill  that  she  sends  home  my  daughters, 
not  being  able  to  teach  them."  And  again  in  1691,  "This 
afternoon  had  Joseph  to  school  to  Capt.  Townsend's  mother's, 
his  cousin  Jane  accompanying  him.  Carried  his  horn-book." 
Joseph  at  this  time  was  not  three  years  old.  A  hundred 
years  later  a  dame  school  was  opened  in  the  basement  of  a 
shop  in  Keene,  New  Hampshire.  By  the  original  agreement 
for  this  school  the  subscribers  "  promise  Mrs.  Ruth  Kidder 
the  sum  of  five  shillings  a  week  for  her  services  and  five 
shillings  for  her  board,  and  to  furnish  the  necessary  wood." 
About  the  same  time  in  Windham  in  the  same  state  one 
Rebecca  Moffitt  taught  a  dame  school.  It  is  said  "  that  she 
lived  in  the  schoolhouse  for  some  years  and  taught  the  scholars 
each  for  a  penny  a  day ;  and  to  conclude  the  school  with  an 
exhibition,  the  patrons  of  the  school  would  bring  spirits  and 
treat  them  in  the  evening  and  also  pay  their  dues." 

It  is  only  when  these  schools  begin  to  be  recognized  by 
the  towns  and  become  semipublic  that  information  of  any 
real  value  is  received.  These  schools  received  early  recog- 
nition ;  in  fact,  they  existed  in  both  forms  during  most  of  the 


THE  DAME  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DAME  165 

two  hundred  years  under  consideration.  The  Cambridge 
report  for  1680  says,  "  For  EngUsh,  our  school  dame  is 
Goodwife  Healy ;  at  present  but  nine  scholars."  In  the  select- 
men's orders  at  Springfield,  in  1682,  is  found  this:  "The 
selectmen  agreed  with  Goodwife  Mirick  to  encourage  her  in 
the  good  work  of  training  up  of  children  and  teaching  chil- 
dren to  read,  that  she  should  have  three  pence  a  week  for 
every  child  that  she  takes  to  perform  this  good  work  for." 
Waterbury,  Connecticut,  in  1702,  appointed  a  committee  to 
hire  "a  school  dame  for  to  keep  school  in  the  summer." 
Westford  hired  a  Mrs.  Edward  Bates  during  the  years  1740 
to  1743;  this  was  forty-five  years  before  the  town  built  a 
schoolhouse.  July  21,  17 17,  Lexington  voted  "that  Clerk 
Lawrence's  wife  and  Ephraim  Winship's  wife  keep  schools 
from  the  day  of  the  date  hereof,  until  the  last  of  October 
next  following ;  and  if  they  have  not  scholars  sufficient  in 
number  to  amount  to  five  shillings  a  week,  at  three  pence  a 
scholar  a  week,  during  the  term  above  said,  then  the  town  to 
make  up  what  shall  be  wanting  of  the  five  shillings  a  week." 
In  Weymouth,  during  the  summer  of  1700,  "women 
were  engaged  to  teach  school  for  six  months  at  twenty-five 
shillings  each,  besides  the  usual  rate  paid  by  those  who  sent 
children."  This  rate  was  three  shillings  for  each  child.  At 
a  town  meeting  held  in  Haverhill,  in  1707,  one  Thomas 
Ayers  petitioned  "for  a  small  piece  of  land  to  set  a  house 
on  near  the  meetinghouse  that  so  the  said  Ayers'  wife  might 
be  the  better  accommodated  for  the  keeping  of  school  to 
teach  children  to  read,"  The  meeting  very  considerately 
voted  "  to  lay  him  out  a  piece  for  that  purpose,  to  enjoy 
during  her  lifetime."  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  in  1744, 
voted  "  that  such  persons  as  shall  incline  to  hire  a  school 
mistress  at  their  own  cost  may  have  leave  to  keep  the  school 
in  the  schoolhouse  until  the  town  shall  have  occasion  for 
such  house."  Harwinton,  Connecticut,  in  1750,  voted  forty 
pounds,  one  half  by  rate  and  one  half  by  tuition,  "  for  hiring 


l66  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

of  two  women  to  teach  children  to  read."  This  was  an  un- 
usually large  sum  for  such  schools,  but  a  similar  amount  was 
voted  for  several  successive  years.  Newbury,  in  1 694,  granted 
a  "  petition  to  erect  a  little  house  for  the  accommodation  of 
a  good  and  sufficient  school  dame." 

'  Though  towns  granted  these  halfway  measures  of  assist- 
ance, the  general  sentiment  was  that  parents  should  furnish 
this  elementary  education.  Under  this  system  the  poorer 
children  suffered,  though  occasionally  some  public-spirited 
citizen  made  a  bequest  for  them,  or  a  town  took  some  special 
action  in  their  behalf. 

At  Salem,  in  1729,  Samuel  Browne  donated  to  the  town 
two  hundred  forty  pounds,  one  fourth  of  which  was  spec- 
ified for  "a  woman's  school,  the  interest  thereof  to  be  yearly 
improved  for  the  learning  of  six  very  poor  children  their 
letters  and  to  spell  and  read,  who  may  be  sent  to  said  school 
six  or  seven  months  in  the  year."  At  Groton,  in  1775,  Josiah 
Sartell  left  his  place  to  the  town  for  rental ;  '"  and  the  over- 
plus of  said  rents  to  be  annually  applied  for  the  keeping  of 
a  good  woman's  school  for  the  instruction  of  the  youth  in 
said  town,  and  the  said  school  to  be  kept  in  a  part  of  the 
dwelling  house  standing  on  said  farm."  At  Dedham,  in  1758, 
Susannah  Bittano  left  one  hundred  dollars  "  to  establish  a 
school  to  be  taught  by  a  woman  in  the  third  parish."  One 
of  the  teachers.  Miss  Elizabeth  White,  gives  this  account  of 
the  school :  "  Being  in  the  days  of  six  per  cent  and  of  low 
salaries,  the  $6  per  year  gave  the  three  weeks'  schooling. 
Accordingly  such  a  school  was  kept,  sometimes  in  a  neighbor's 
house,  sometimes  in  the  porch  or  vestibule  of  the  church,  and 
even  one  or  two  years  in  the  horse  sheds.  It  chanced  to  be 
omitted  one  year,  therefore  the  large  sum  of  ;^  1 2  was  accumu- 
lated, and  I  was  asked  by  one  of  our  old  deacons  if  I  should 
be  too  proud  to  keep  the  school  for  six  weeks.  ...  I  was 
not  too  proud  and  accepted  the  situation,  enjoying  twenty-five 
little  pupils  in  a  room  in  my  father's  house." 


THE  DAME  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DAME  167 

In  May,  171 2,  Charlestown  voted  "five  pounds  to  place 
poor  children  at  such  women's  schools  as  shall  be  allowed  of 
by  the  selectmen,  such  children  whose  parents  are  not  able 
to  bring  them  to  school."  In  Marblehead,  about  1700,  edu- 
cational conditions  had  become  very  bad.  The  children  of 
poor  parents  who  could  not  read  themselves  were  wholly  un- 
taught. The  cost  of  the  dame  schools  could  not  be  met,  and 
entrance  to  the  master's  school  was  denied  without  the  knowl- 
edge obtained  from  the  dame  school.  Finally  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  investigate  the  matter  and  one  hundred 
twenty-two  boys  were  found  who  could  not  read.  "'  To  remedy 
this  end,  it  was  voted  that  the  children  of  the  poor  should  be 
taught  the  necessary  branches  to  qualify  them  for  entrance 
into  the  schools,  at  the  expense  of  the  town." 

Medford,  in  1794,  passed  a  vote  not  to  allow  children 
under  seven  years  of  age  to  enter  school,  nor  then  unless 
they  could  read:  "And  as  this  regulation  will  probably  ex- 
clude many  who  have  heretofore  attended,  therefore  it  is 
voted,  that  the  selectmen  are  hereby  empowered  to  pay  school 
mistresses  for  instructing  those  children  who  are  excluded 
from  the  public  town  school  and  whose  parents  are  unable  to 
defray  such  extra  expense." 

Mr.  Charles  H.  Morss,  in  his  history  of  the  Medford 
schools,  says  :  "  Under  the  authority  to  pay  at  the  private 
schools  the  tuition  of  young  children  whose  parents  could 
not  afford  to  do  so,  none  seem  to  have  availed  themselves  of 
the  privilege  till  the  year  1797,  when  Eliza  Francis  presented 
her  bill  for  schooling  Mrs.  Butterfield's  three  children  and 
received  on  Jan.  10,  1798,  an  order  on  the  treasurer  for 
$6.84."  The  town  passed  the  same  vote  regarding  the  pay- 
ment of  tuition  in  1799,  again  in  1800,  and  also  in  1801, 
when  they  voted  that  "  the  interest  of  the  money  received  for 
the  land  left  the  town  by  Isaac  Royal  Esq.  be  applied  to  pay 
the  schooling  of  such  children  whose  parents  are  unable  to 
pay  for  them."    Payments  for  young  children  were  made  from 


1 68  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

1798  to  1822,  even  after  the  establishment  of  free  primary 
schools.  Fifteen  different  teachers  received  payments  from 
the  town  during  this  period. 

Some  towns  supplied  dame  schools  from  very  early  times, 
paying  all  expenses  as  they  did  in  the  master's  schools  and 
continuing  this  support  throughout  the  whole  period  under 
discussion.  There  is  a  record  in  Woburn,  in  1673,  making 
the  town  "  Dr.  to  Allen  Converse's  wife  and  Joseph  Wright's 
wife  for  schooling,  ten  shillings."  Mrs.  Converse  taught  for 
a  number  of  years  after  this.  In  1686  Widow  Walker  was 
appointed  "to  be  a  school  dame  for  the  year,  and  to  have 
ten  shillings  for  her  labor  as  the  others  had."  And  in  1692 
the  selectmen  were  sent  "  to  speak  with  Mrs.  Walker  in  order 
to  keep  a  school  for  lesser  children  to  learn  them  to  read, 
and  agreed  with  her  to  perform  said  service,  the  town  allow- 
ing her,  in  pay,  the  sum  of  ten  shillings  per  the  year."  '"  In 
pay  "  meant  com,  rye,  produce  but  not  money  ;  ten  shillings 
in  pay  was  worth  only  two  thirds  as  much  in  cash  —  about 
six  shillings  eightpence. 

Worcester,  in  173 1,  placed  this  upon  her  records:  "Where- 
as many  small  children  cannot  attend  the  school  in  the  center 
of  the  town  by  reason  of  the  remoteness  of  their  dwellings, 
and  to  the  intent  that  all  children  may  have  the  benefit  of 
education  &c.,  voted,  that  a  suitable  number  of  school  dames, 
not  exceeding  five,  be  provided  by  the  selectmen  at  the  charge 
of  the  town,  for  the  teaching  of  small  children  to  read,  and 
to  be  placed  in  the  several  parts  of  the  town  as  the  selectmen 
may  think  most  convenient,  and  such  gentlewomen  to  be  paid 
by  the  poll  as  the  selectmen  and  they  may  agree." 

At  Salem,  in  1712,  "the  people  at  the  village  voted  five 
pounds  to  Widow  Catherine  Dealland  for  teaching  school 
among  them  and  invited  her  to  do  the  same  service  another 
year  for  the  like  sum."  The  first  school  dame  mentioned  in 
the  records  of  Windsor,  Connecticut,  was  Sarah  Stiles  in  1 7 1 7> 
and  the  next  year  it  was  voted  "  that  the  schools  shall  be  kept 


THE  DAME  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DAME  169 

by  women  in  the  summer  until  October."  Mendon,  in  1732, 
voted  to  raise  thirty  pounds  and  also  voted  to  "  choose  school 
dames  to  keep  school  in  the  outskirts  of  the  town."  Falmouth, 
in  1 7 16,  ordered  that  "  Hannah  Sargent  be  engaged  this  year 
as  school  dame,  and  that  twelve  pounds  and  diet  per  annum 
be  allowed  for  her  services,  —  only  the  agents  shall  obtain  her 
as  much  cheaper  as  they  can ;  the  school  to  be  settled  in  the 
four  quarters  of  the  town." 

The  annals  of  Salem  for  1771  contain  this:  "Widow 
Abigail  Fowler,  a  noted  school  dame,  finished  her  earthly 
labors.  She  was  in  her  68th  year,  and  began  to  teach  children 
before  she  was  18,  and  continued  so  to  do  till  her  decease, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  years  after  she  was  married." 
Her  work  then  began  in  1721. 

Farmington,  Maine,  was  settled  in  1781  ;  soon  after  the 
settlement  "  home  education  of  the  children  was  supplemented 
by  the  employment  of  female  teachers  and  each  settler  was 
expected  to  yield  a  portion  of  his  log  house  for  a  schoolroom 
when  it  came  his  turn.  Knitting  and  sewing  were  taught  as 
a  part  of  the  regular  system  of  instruction,  a  practise  which 
prevailed  for  many  years,"  Women  teachers  received  seventy- 
five  cents  per  week,  men  from  ten  to  fifteen  dollars  a  month 
and  their  board. 

An  inhabitant  of  Industry,  Maine,  speaking  of  the  condi- 
tions about  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  said  :  "  An  old  maiden 
lady  was  employed  occasionally  a  short  time  to  teach  children 
their  letters  and  to  spell  out  words.  Her  school  was  kept  one 
month  in  my  barn.  She  did  what  she  could  to  teach  the  young 
ideas  how  to  shoot,  but  was  quite  incompetent,  I  visited  her 
school  on  one  occasion  and  she  had  a  small  class  advanced  to 
words  of  three  syllables  in  the  spelling  book,  and  when  they 
came  to  the  word  '  anecdote,'  she  called  it  '  a-neck-dote '  and 
defined  it  to  be  '  a  food  eaten  between  meals.'  " 

North  Brookfield,  in  1732,  voted  "that  the  selectmen  be 
desired  and  empowered  to  hire  and  improve  four  women  to 


I70  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

keep  school  in  the  most  convenient  places  to  accommodate 
the  most  children,  for  four  months  from  the  time  they  begin 
said  school."  Amesbury,  in  1699,  voted  "to  leave  it  to  the 
selectmen  to  procure  a  schoolmaster  or  school  dames  that  may 
supply  the  town."  In  1707  it  was  voted  "  that  the  selectmen 
should  hire  four  or  five  school  dames  for  the  town  to  teach 
children  to  read."  And  in  1709  it  was  voted  "to  hire  two 
women  to  keep  school  and  Widow  Stevens  and  Goodwife 
Pregett  were  designated  at  salaries  of  eight  pounds."  In 
succeeding  years  school  dames  were  hired  for  the  whole  town. 
But  perhaps  the  most  curious  provision  was  made  in  Wenham 
iri  1733,  when  an  agreement  with  a  schoolmaster  read: 
"And  whereas  it  is  impracticable  for  all  the  children  to  come 
together  in  one  place  it  is  covenanted  and  agreed  that  he  be 
allowed  to  teach  little  children  to  read  by  suitable  women,  in 
the  several  parts  of  the  town,  that  he  shall  agree  with,  by  the 
approbation  of  the  selectmen  ;  also  to  teach  to  write  by  another 
man  in  another  part  of  the  town." 

At  Billerica,  in  17 19,  the  selectmen  "gave  leave  to  John 
Hartwell's  wife  to  keep  school,  to  instruct  children  to  read." 

Amherst,  in  1749,  voted  "  to  hire  three  school  dames  for 
three  or  four  months  in  the  summer  season  to  teach  children 
to  read."  In  the  same  year  it  was  voted  for  one  of  the  pre- 
cincts that  three  men  be  a  committee  "  to  hire  three  school 
dames  for  three  or  four  months  in  the  summer  season,  to 
learn  children  to  read,  said  schools  to  be  in  the  most  con- 
venient places  in  the  precinct." 

Medford,  in  1 8 1 7,  for  the  first  time  authorized  the  select- 
men "  to  employ  one  or  more  female  instructors  of  the  girls 
at  the  town  school  the  ensuing  year  at  their  discretion." 
The  schoolmaster's  wife,  Mrs.  Abijah  Kendall,  "  was  em- 
ployed for  this  work  at  twenty-five  dollars  a  month  and 
board,  and  from  that  time  on  for  about  a  year  and  a  half 
the  husband  draws  with  great  regularity  both  his  own  salary 
and  his  wife's." 


THE  DAME  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DAME  171 

In  18 19  a  committee  report  on  school  matters  contained  the 
following  items :  "That  the  town  contains  158  girls  over  the 
age  of  seven  years.  .  .  .  That  the  town  contains  117  children 
of  both  sexes  over  four  years  of  age  and  under  seven  years  of 
age,  that  require  to  be  taught  in  the  summer  season  by  women 
teachers.  .  .  .  That  the  committee  be  authorized  to  employ 
three  women  teachers  for  six  months  beginning  about  the  first 
of  May,  who  are  to  teach  the  girls  of  all  ages  from  four  years 
old  and  upwards,  and  the  boys  from  four  years  old  to  seven,  un- 
less they  are  sufficiently  qualified  to  go  to  the  master's  school." 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  investigate  the  probable 
expense  ;  they  went  farther  and  voiced  vigorous  opposition  to 
this  evident  progressive  step  toward  public  primary  schools. 
After  quoting  the  vote  of  1794,  they  said  :  "If  the  votes  of 
the  town  are  not  to  remain  a  dead  letter ;  if  the  selectmen 
still  retain  the  power  therein  contained ;  then  it  becomes  a 
question  how  many  of  these  1 1 7  children  there  are  whose 
parents  cannot  defray  the  expense  of  having  their  children 
under  seven  years  of  age  instructed  by  one  of  the  many  school 
mistresses  that  are  in  town,  and  whether  by  agreeing  to  pay 
the  schooling  of  such  as  cannot  afford  the  expense  there  would 
be  a  necessity  for  new  teachers.  Your  committee  find  there 
are  six  women  teachers  now  in  town  who  have  with  great  in- 
dustr)'  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  parents  and  children,  each 
of  them  got  up  a  small  school  and  gain  their  living  by  teaching 
those  small  children,  and  those  women  reside  in  such  parts 
of  the  town  as  accommodates  all.  Therefore  your  committee 
for  the  above  reasons  regret  exceedingly  that  any  measures 
have  been  adopted  previous  to  a  thorough  investigation  of  the 
subject,  and  do  believe  that  the  117  might  be  instructed  in 
the  schools  now  kept  in  the  town,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of 
all  parties  at  a  very  little  expense,  certainly  far  short  of  the 
expense  contemplated.  The  town  schools  in  Boston  give  great 
satisfaction,  yet  the  teachers  have  daily  1 50  scholars  to  attend 
to,  and  your  committee  do  believe  that  one  master  ihe  year 


172  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

round  is  sufficient  for  all  the  boys  that  will  attend  in  town." 
They  then  presented  an  array  of  figures  to  show  that  the  pro- 
posed measure  would  cost  the  town  one  hundred  seventeen 
dollars  and  sixty-eight  cents  more  than  the  method  in  use. 
The  town,  however,  stood  by  its  former  vote  and  the  schools 
were  established. 

The  amount  paid  school  dames  was  exceedingly  small, 
whether  given  by  the  parents  or  by  the  town ;  a  few  pence 
per  week,  or  two  or  three  shillings  a  year,  for  each  child  was 
deemed  sufficient.  There  seems  not  to  have  been  any  accepted 
rate  ;  each  town  made  its  own  bargain.  The  lowest  found  was 
that  paid  in  17 12  in  Guilford,  Connecticut,  to  one  Sarah 
Hughes,  who  was  "  to  be  furnished  by  the  selectmen  with 
what  she  wants  for  her  sustenance."  This  seems  to  have  been 
all  the  pay  she  received.  Westfield,  in  1736,  paid  Widow 
Catherine  Noble  twenty-five  shillings  a  month.  Swanzey,  New 
Hampshire,  in  1785,  voted  '"  to  pay  Sarah  Woodcock  twenty- 
two  shillings  for  her  services  in  schooling  in  the  year  past  in 
this  town  " ;  they  also  paid  twenty-two  shillings  for  her  board. 
Westminster,  in  i  T^J,  allowed  Abigail  Whitney  one  pound 
three  shillings,  fourpence,  "  for  keeping  school  eight  weeks 
lacking  two  days." 

From  1758  to  1760  a  reading  and  writing  school  was 
taught  in  Braintree  by  Mrs.  Jonathan  Fessenden  ;  she  was 
paid  sixty-seven  cents  a  week.  In  1724  the  school  dame  at 
Falmouth  was  voted  "  twelve  pounds  and  diet,  with  use  of  a 
horse  to  visit  her  friends  twice  a  year."  At  Medway,  in 
1 718,  two  schools  were  established  and  their  teachers,  Ruth 
Hathaway  and  Widow  Partridge,  were  paid  nine  shillings  eight 
pence  and  six  shillings  fourpence,  respectively.  At  Danvers, 
in  171 3,  Widow  Katharine  Daland  received  five  pounds  for 
teaching.  This  is  probably  the  Catherine  Dealland  mentioned 
above  as  serving  in  Salem  in  1712  for  the  same  amount. 
Dames  were  employed  during  the  summer  of  1737  and 
received  sixpence  each  week. 


THE  DAME  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DAME  173 

At  Harvard,  in  1795,  a  woman  teacher  was  paid  thirty 
dollars  and  her  board  for  teaching  fifteen  weeks.  At  Norton, 
in  1 79 1 ,  an  order  was  drawn  to  pay  the  school  dame  for  teach- 
ing eight  weeks  at  three  shillings  a  week  ;  she  was  also  boarded 
for  three  shillings  a  week.  Chelsea,  in  1755,  "agreed  that 
Mrs.  Tuttle  keep  school  at  the  schoolhouse  for  one  quarter 
at  one  dollar  per  week."  In  1764  an  order  was  given  on  the 
town  treasurer  "  in  favor  of  Mr.  Abijah  Hastings  for  the  sum 
of  ^3-1-2-2,  being  in  part  for  his  wife's  keeping  school  in 
the  year  1763."  Mr.  Hastings  received  orders  for  his  wife's 
keeping  school  until  1797.  In  1786  she  was  paid  ten  shil- 
lings per  week  for  "  keeping  school  and  boarding  herself." 
The  selectmen's  records  are  full  of  payments  made  to  men  for 
their  wives'  keeping  school,  showing  that  dames  were  com- 
monly employed  in  all  the  districts,  such  as  this  in  1765, 
"  Gave  an  order  in  favor  of  Mr.  Andrew  Tucksbury  for  the 
sum  of  £2-6  lawful  money,  for  his  wife's  schooling  twelve 
scholars,  each  seventeen  weeks  and  three  days,  at  three  shil- 
lings and  two  pence  one  farthing  per  week  ;  .  .  .  the  above  sum 
is  in  full  for  his  wife's  service."  Deerfield,  in  1728,  voted 
the  school  dame  ten  shillings  a  week,  but  "liberty  was  granted 
to  all  farmers  to  procure  school  dames  to  teach  their  children, 
to  be  paid  three  pence  a  week  for  each  scholar" ;  in  1733  the 
price  was  raised  to  fourpence  and  a  few  years  later  to  fiVe  pence. 

Weston,  in  1803,  voted  that  "  each  of  the  four  school  mis- 
tresses employed  by  the  town  to  instruct  children  is  to  have 
a  salary  of  ;$ioo  and  four  cords  of  wood." 

Another  form  of  valuing  dame  schools  is  found  in  a  vote 
at  Cambridge  in  1802,  when,  in  dividing  the  time,  it  was 
agreed  that  "  twelve  months  of  school  taught  by  a  female  be 
reckoned  as  equivalent  to  4  4/5  months  of  a  master's  school." 

A  similar  vote  is  found  in  Norwich,  Connecticut,  in  1745  : 
"  If  any  of  these  schools  should  be  kept  by  a  woman,  the  time 
was  to  be  doubled,  as  the  pay  of  the  mistress  was  but  one  half 
that  of  the  master." 


174  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Hartford,  Connecticut,  in  1799,  paid  two  dollars  a  week. 
With  reference  to  the  whole  state  system  in  1828,  it  is  said 
"  the  average  compensation  in  addition  to  board  is  about 
eleven  dollars  a  month  for  male  teachers  and  a  dollar  a  week 
for  females.  Many  females,  however,  of  considerable  experi- 
ence, teach  at  75  cents  a  week  ;  and  some  whose  experience 
is  less,  at  62  1/2  or  even  50  cents." 

In  New  Hampshire,  Salisbury  paid  seven  shillings  a  week  ; 
Weare  paid  two  or  three  shillings  a  week  and  board  at  two 
shillings;  Dublin,  in  1773,  made  its  first  appropriation  for 
schools,  four  pounds,  "  to  keep  a  woman's  school  in  three 
parts  of  the  town."  This  was  equal  to  thirteen  dollars  and 
thirty-three  cents,  only  four  dollars  and  forty-four  cents  to  each 
school.  "  But  if  the  board  of  the  teacher  was  paid  by  the  town 
or  by  the  parents  of  the  children,  and  a  room  provided  and 
furnished  without  charge,  then  the  $4.44  would  give  ten 
weeks'  schooling,  provided  the  teacher  received  for  wages  only 
44  cents  per  week  ;  and  it  is  known  that  even  after  this  date 
female  teachers  received  no  more."  In  1790  there  is  a  record 
which  shows  that  the  school  dame  was  paid  for  eight  weeks 
at  the  rate  of  forty-four  cents  a  week ;  after  1 800  for  about 
twenty-five  years  the  rate  was  a  dollar  a  week.  Board  was 
two  shillings  sixpence  a  week  until  about  1795,  when  it  was 
raised  to  four  shillings. 

At  Raymond,  in  1769,  "Widow  Judkins  was  paid  twelve 
shillings  lawful  money  for  teaching,  and  fifteen  shillings 
were  paid  to  Israel  Gordon  for  going  after  her,  boarding  her, 
and  carrying  her  home  again."  The  term  was  four  weeks  in 
length.  At  Temple  the  teacher's  wages  were  eight  shillings 
per  month;  this  was  in  1782.  A  few  years  before  Ensign 
Kidder  had  been  paid  two  pounds  two  shillings  eight  pence 
lawful  money  "  for  his  wife's  service  in  keeping  school  in 
1774."  She  had  kept  the  school  in  her  own  house.  As  late 
as  1828  it  was  voted  "to  give  Spaulding  Boynton  91  cents 
per  week  to  board  the  mistress  and  Capt.  J.  Brown  97  cents 


THE  DAME  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DAME  175 

per  week  to  board  the  master."  Of  Marlboro,  about  1800,  it 
is  related,  "'  the  price  of  board  was  for  many  years  determined 
by  vendue,  the  teachers  being  boarded  by  the  one  who  would 
do  it  the  cheapest ;  the  price  sometimes  going  as  low  as 
60  cents  per  week.  When  this  was  the  case,  the  teacher  was 
sometimes  reminded  as  she  sat  at  the  table,  that  the  sum 
received  was  hardly  sufficient  to  pay  for  her  board  and  for 
this  reason  she  must  partake  sparingly."  It  might  be  added 
that  this  method  of  setting  the  price  for  board  was  afterwards 
commonly  used  throughout  New  England  with  reference  to 
the  paupers. 

The  following  receipts  and  accounts  throw  some  light  on 
salaries  and  other  costs  : 

"  District  of  Westminster  Dr.,  To  my  wife's  keeping  school 
four  weeks  and  four  days,  the  sum  ;^  1-3-4.  Nathan  Pierce." 
This  was  in  1766. 

Winchendon^  in  1768,  paid  a  bill  of  five  shillings  for  "a 
horse  to  bring  the  school  dame  up  and  carry  her  down  again." 
Another  item  is  this  :  "  The  town  of  Winchendon  to  me  Dr. 
for  boarding  the  school  dame,  Mrs.  Down,  four  weeks  at  three 
shillings  per  "week,  twelve  shillings." 

These  two  are  from  Henniker,  New  Hampshire,  in  1 774  : 

"  Then  received  of  Aaron  Adams  twelve  shillings  lawful 
money  for  my  wife's  teaching  school.  I  say  received  by  me, 
Otis  Howe." 

"This  day  received  of  the  selectmen  ;^i-i  of  the  town's 
money  which  is  in  full  for  seven  weeks'  schooling  done  by 
my  sister.    I  say  received  by  me,  Thomas  Johnson." 

From  Sutton,  New  Hampshire,  comes  this,  dated  1791  : 
"  Received  of  Jacob  Mastin  and  Hezekiah  Parker,  six  bushels 
of  rye,  it  being  in  full  for  my  keeping  school  for  them  and 
others  last  fall,  six  weeks.    Lydia  Parker." 

In  the  early  i8oo's  wages  were  very  low  and  the  board  of 
doubtful  quality.  Milford  paid  one  or  two  dollars  ^  week, 
and  the  board  was  put  up  at  auction  in  the  district  meeting 


\ 


176  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

and  was  often  bid  in  as  low  as  fifty  cents  a  week.  Easton 
paid  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  a  week  and  board,  which 
was  reckoned  at  seventy-five  cents,  and  one  case  is  recorded 
of  a  lady  who  taught  for  a  dollar  a  week  and  boarded  herself. 
Medford,  in  18 17,  paid  four  dollars  a  week  without  board. 

Private  receipts  were  meager.  In  Dorchester,  near  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  a  school  dame,  Mrs.  Jemima  Smith, 
received  but  twelve  and  one-half  cents  per  week  from  each 
pupil.  The  school  was  small  and  "  she  could  not  afford  to 
have  a  dinner  but  once  a  week."  The  generous  pupils  fre- 
quently "'  brought  her  pieces  of  wood  for  her  fire  and  simple 
food  to  eat."  In  Medford,  in  18 17,  twelve  cents  per  week 
bought  "'  an  abundance  of  motherly  care,  useful  knowledge, 
and  salutary  discipline." 

Because  of  these  small  returns  the  school  dames  were  glad 
of  opportunities  to  earn  money  in  other  ways.  In  the  country 
districts  they  commonly  spun  for  the  family  they  boarded  with, 
when  out  of  school.  At  other  times  they  are  found  doing  the 
tailoring  and  dressmaking  for  the  family. 

The  next  step  in  the  development  of  the  woman's  school 
was  also  a  step  towards  the  development  of  the  district-school 
system.  A  certain  part  of  the  amount  appropriated  for  the 
schools  was  allotted  to  the  support  of  women  teachers,  and 
the  expenditure  of  this  money  was  frequently  left  to  the 
squadron  or  district. 

Framingham,  in  1768,  voted  that  "  each  squadron  keep  a 
woman's  school  sixteen  weeks  in  the  year,"  and  twenty-five 
pounds  were  granted  for  this  purpose ;  but  it  was  also  voted 
that  "each  squadron  have  liberty  to  employ  men  instead  of 
women  to  keep  the  schools  above  expressed  as  long  as  their 
money  will  hold."  There  were  no  women's  schools  the  next 
year,  but  they  were  resumed  the  year  following  and  continued. 
In  1766  Leicester  appropriated  seventy  pounds  for  schools 
and  the  selectmen  were  desired  "  to  appropriate  one  third  of 
this  money  in  hiring  schooling  mistresses  in  each  quarter." 


THE  DAME  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DAME  177 

It  was  added,  '"  If  any  of  the  districts  were  dissatisfied  with 
this  arrangement,  they  had  the  privilege  of  taking  their  por- 
tion of  the  money."  North  Brookfield,  in  1748,  voted  '"  that 
where  there  is  fifteen  or  twenty  children  can  conveniently 
come  to  one  school  in  any  part  of  the  town,  they  shall  be 
allowed  a  school  dame  at  the  charge  of  the  town,  they  pro- 
curing the  dame."  Plymouth,  in  1775,  voted  "  that  each  end 
of  the  town  which  for  some  time  past  had  a  woman's  school 
among  them,  be  allowed  to  deduct  out  of  the  town's  treasury 
what  they  are  annually  voted  or  taxed  for  the  grammar  school, 
and  no  more,  towards  the  maintaining  a  school  among  them- 
selves." Cohasset,  when  a  parish  of  Hingham,  voted  that 
one  third  of  the  school  money  should  "  be  paid  to  a  school 
dame  for  teaching  the  children  to  read."  Weston,  in  1796, 
voted  "that  each  of  the  school  districts  in  town  may  draw 
out  of  the  treasury  the  sum  of  twenty  dollars  for  the  purpose 
of  providing  a  woman's  school  the  ensuing  summer,"  Man- 
chester, in  1736,  voted:  "The  one  half  of  the  said  fifty 
pounds  to  be  expended  to  support  four  school  dames  to  keep 
a  free  school." 

Harpswell,  Maine,  in  1760,  voted  "that  each  part  of  the 
Neck  and  also  the  Island  should  draw  their  proportionate 
part  of  the  school  money  that  was  collected  and  should 
hire  mistresses." 

Similar  votes  are  found  among  the  New  Hampshire  towns. 
Sutton,  in  1767,  voted  "that  fifteen  pounds  be  taken  out  of 
the  ninety  pounds  that  was  voted  to  defray  schooling  and 
other  town  charges  for  this  present  year,  to  pay  school  dames 
for  schooling  in  the  summer  season."  Hopkinton,  in  1768, 
voted  "  that  one  half  of  said  money  shall  be  laid  out  by  hiring 
a  school  mistress  or  mistresses."  And  Marlboro,  in  1797, 
voted  "  to  take  one  fourth  of  the  money  for  a  woman's  school 
the  present  year." 

Harwinton,  Connecticut,  in  1742,  five  years  after >  the 
settlement  of  the  town,  voted  to  have  a  school  "  some  part 


178  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

of  the  year,"  and  appointed  a  committee  to  "  provide  a  suffi- 
cient school  master  and  mistress  for  the  year  ensuing," 
After  providing  for  the  master's  school  it  was  voted  that 
"  the  rest  of  the  money  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  com- 
mittee to  lay  out  upon  school  dames."  In  1748  it  was  voted 
"  and  the  other  half  is  to  be  improved  to  hire  school  dames 
in  this  town  for  the  year  ensuing."  Columbia,  Connecticut, 
in  1739,  voted  "and  the  rest  of  the  money  to  be  improved 
in  hiring  school  dames  to  teach  children  to  read,  the  rest  of 
the  year,  as  shall  best  suit  the  parish  in  general." 

Male  teachers  were  obliged  to  be  "  approbated  "  before 
they  could  properly  assume  office.  The  custom  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  generally  exercised  for  the  public  dame 
teacher,  though  a  few  records  are  found,  as  in  Wenham  in 
1746  :  "  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Kimball  was  approved  of  and  appro- 
bated to  keep  school  in  our  town  to  teach  children  and  youth 
to  read  and  write,  she  having  behaved  in  sober  conversation." 

Greenfield,  in  1767,  had  seven  districts;  there  was  "but 
one  school  master  and  he  to  move  to  each  district  according 
to  the  proportion,  and  to  have  a  school  dame  the  other  six 
months  and  she  to  keep  school  in  the  several  districts  accord- 
ing to  their  proportion.  All  the  masters  and  dames  that  are 
improved  to  be  approved  by  the  selectmen." 

In  New  Hampshire  there  was  a  famous  school  dame  by 
the  name  of  Rachel  Bill.  One  of  the  town  fathers  of  the 
town  of  Gilsum  gave  her  this  certificate  :  "  These  may  certify 
whom  it  may  concern,  that  having  examined  Miss  Rachel 
Bill  concerning  her  qualifications  for  a  school  dame,  cannot 
but  judge  her  a  person  qualified  for  that  business,  and  as  such 
do  hereby  recommend  her  wherever  a  door  shall  be  opened 
for  her  improvement.    Clement  Sumner." 

By  the  New  Hampshire  law  of  1808,  all  teachers,  male  or 
female,  must  have  a  certificate  of  good  moral  character  from 
the  minister  or  from  one  of  the  selectmen  of  the  town  in  which 
they  lived;   they  must  also  have  a  certificate  of  "sufficient 


THE  DAME  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DAME  179 

knowledge  to  keep  school  "  from  some  "  educated  person." 
Female  teachers  were  not  required  to  teach  arithmetic ;  they 
had  the  requisite  qualifications  if  they  were  "  able  to  teach 
the  various  sounds  and  powers  of  the  letters  of  the  English 
language,  reading,  writing,  and  English  grammar." 

Boston  had  no  public  school  dames  until  it  established 
the  primary  schools ;  but  it  rigidly  required  that  all  persons 
desiring  to  teach  private  schools  should  be  approved  by  the 
selectmen.  The  records  therefore  contain  many  items  like 
the  following:  1737,  "Henry  Bearing,  Esq.  appearing,  in- 
forms that  Mrs.  Rebecca  North  is  come  from  Piscataqua  with 
a  desire  to  dwell  in  this  town,  and  that  she  desires  liberty  to 
open  a  school  for  the  instruction  of  children  in  reading  and 
the  use  of  the  needle,  offering  to  give  his  bond  to  indemnify 
the  town  for  five  years  next  coming  as  the  law  directs."  The 
request  was  granted.  Later  in  the  same  year,  "  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Hincke  desiring  liberty  to  keep  a  school  in  this  town  for  the 
teaching  and  instructing  children  in  sewing,  in  philligree,  and 
writing,  liberty  was  granted  accordingly."  These  are  the  first 
two  cases  to  appear  on  the  records. 

In  1 78 1  "  Mr.  Elisha  Byles  applies  for  liberty  for  his  wife 
to  open  a  school  for  teaching  children  reading,  &c.,  which  was 
granted."  In  1790  "the  following  certificate  was  this  day 
given  on  the  recommendation  of  a  number  of  the  respectable 
inhabitants  of  the  south  part  of  the  town  :  This  certifies  that 
from  recommendations  of  Misses  Betsey  and  Amy  Raymer, 
the  selectmen  are  of  opinion  that  they  are  persons  of  a  sober 
life  and  conversation,  and  well  qualified  to  keep  school  for 
teaching  reading  and  sewing." 

After  1 700  there  was  a  tendency  to  locate  many  of  these 
women's  schools  for  definite  times  in  definite  parts  of  the  town 
between  the  periods  of  the  masters'  schools.  The  following 
votes  show  this  tendency  : 

Framingham,  in  171 3,  appointed  the  selectmen  "to  settle 
school  dames  in  each  quarter  of  the  town."   In  1755  it  was 


l8o  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

voted  that  "  women's  schools  should  be  kept  at  the  five  school 
houses  in  the  summer  season " ;  and  ten  years  later  it  was 
voted  to  employ  "  five  school  dames,  eight  weeks." 

Weston,  in  1768,  voted  ""to  keep  four  schools  over  and 
above  the  grammar  schools  for  two  months  in  the  winter 
season  and  to  begin  about  the  middle  of  January  next,  and 
also  voted  to  have  five  women's  schools  kept  three  months 
the  next  summer  season  and  to  begin  about  the  middle  of 
May  next."  Westminster,  in  1766,  voted  ""that  a  woman's 
school  be  kept  seven  months  in  the  outskirts  of  the  town." 
Brookline,  in  171 1,  voted  to  build  two  schoolhouses  and  also 
voted  ""  that  they  maintain  a  good  school  dame  half  of  the 
year  at  each  house."  From  1727  to  1730  the  votes  ran  like 
this :  ""  Voted  a  dame  for  each  school  for  eight  months ; 
Voted  there  be  a  mistress  in  each  school  house  four  months ; 
Voted  to  keep  school  ten  months  this  year,  five  months  with 
two  mistresses  one  in  each  school,  and  five  months  with  a 
master  ten  weeks  in  each  school."  Dudley,  in  1743,  voted 
'"  to  have  a  school  dame  three  months  at  each  end  of  the 
town  and  three  months  a  schoolmaster  in  the  center  of 
the  town." 

Chester,  New  Hampshire,  in  1740,  voted  '"  that  there  shall 
be  a  school  maintained  in  the  town  this  year  throughout; 
partly  by  a  schoolmaster  and  partly  by  school  dames,  as  the 
selectmen  shall  judge  best  for  the  town." 

This  is  found  in  the  Norwich  (Connecticut)  record  for  1746 : 
'"  The  said  meeting  by  their  majority  vote  do  agree  and  order 
that  there  shall  be  two  women's  schools  kept  from  the  first 
of  April  next  to  the  first  of  October  ensuing."  One  was  kept 
in  the  town  house,  and  the  other  was  kept  in  ""  the  house 
built  for  that  purpose." 

Salem,  in  1801,  issued  this  notice:  "The  inhabitants  are 
informed  that  three  public  schools  for  children  of  both  sexes 
and  not  less  than  five  years  old  are  opened.  The  alphabet, 
spelling,  and  reading  are  taught  in  them." 


THE  DAME  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DAME  i8i 

For  two  generations  the  records  in  Chelsea  show  very  little 
variation  in  the  woman's  school ;  and  this  is  typical  of  all  the 
larger  places  in  Massachusetts.  In  1749  it  was  "voted  a 
woman's  school  be  kept  at  Pulling  Point,  it  being  at  the  ear- 
nest desire  of  the  inhabitants  there,  for  the  space  of  three 
months,  and  thereupon  ordered  that  Capt.  Oliver  agree  with 
Mrs.  Ann  Ellitt  as  soon  as  may  be  to  keep  said  school,  and 
as  reasonably  as  he  can,  she  being  the  person  the  people  of 
the  Point  are  most  desirous  of  having."  A  month  later  he  was 
ordered  to  make  an  agreement  with  a  man,  "  and  that  he 
compound  with  Mrs.  Ellitt  in  the  easiest  terms  he  can,  and 
obtain  from  her  a  relinquishment  of  his  contract  with  her, 
in  as  much  as  no  place  can  be  had  on  the  Point  convenient 
for  her  to  board."  Early  in  the  next  year  the  town  "  allowed 
Mrs.  Ann  Ellitt  nine  pounds,  old  tenor,  for  her  time  she  lost 
by  agreement  to  keep  school  at  Pulling  Point,  of  which  em- 
ploy she  was  disappointed  as  no  place  could  be  had  for  her 
to  board  at." 

Women's  schools  were  kept  in  different  parts  of  the  town 
from  year  to  year,  but  not  every  year.  Frequent  votes  are 
found  like  this  one  in  1770,  "Voted  not  to  have  a  woman's 
school  this  present  year."  With  the  establishment  of  a 
school  committee  the  woman's  school  became  a  more  defi- 
nite institution.  In  1807  it  was  voted  "that  there  be  a 
woman's  school  a  certain  part  of  the  year,  discretionally  with 
the  school  committee."  But  the  value  of  the  school  committee 
was  shown  the  next  year,  when  they  made  a  stated  report  with 
recommendations  which  were  accepted  :  "  That  in  the  future 
the  school  shall  be  kept  by  a  woman  from  the  first  of  May 
to  the  first  of  November,  and  by  a  man  the  remainder  of  the 
year.  That  no  child  be  allowed  to  attend  the  school,  while 
under  the  instruction  of  a  man,  under  the  age  of  six  years. 
That  no  boy  be  allowed  to  attend  the  school,  while  under  the 
instruction  of  a  woman,  over  nine  years  of  age."  Schoqls 
were  continued  six  months  by  a  man  and  six  months  by  a 


1 82      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

woman  for  some  years.  In  1817  the  woman's  school  was 
made  seven  months,  and  two  years  later  it  was  made  eight 
months.  In  1822  it  was  taught  five  months  by  a  man  and  six 
months  by  a  woman,  showing  that  the  school  was  beginning 
to  have  a  summer  vacation. 
\  The  early  dame  schools  were  not  kept  in  the  schoolhouses 

but  in  private  dwellings,  in  kitchen  or  attic  as  best  suited, 
and  some  in  more  unsuitable  places  as  records  already  quoted 
show.  It  is  recorded  in  Henniker,  New  Hampshire,  about 
1767,  that  Mrs.  Josiah  Ward  kept  a  dame  school  for  a  few 
weeks  "  in  her  kitchen  while  she  was  attending  to  her  house- 
hold duties."  In  Sutton  the  first  school  dame  was  Olive 
Whitcomb,  and  she  kept  school  "  in  deacon  Asa  Nelson's 
barn"  about  the  year  1788. 

In  Maiden,  in  1779,  Mrs.  Rebecca  Parker,  after  her  hus- 
band's death,  "  occupied  a  portion  of  the  old  house  where 
she  kept  a  school  at  the  expense  of  the  town."  The  general 
observation  is  made  about  the  schools  in  Hadley,  "  Dames 
kept  school  in  their  own  rooms,  where  girls  were  instructed 
to  read  and  sew,  and  in  some,  small  boys  were  taught  to 
read."  At  North  Brookfield  the  unfinished  room  in  the 
house  was  most  generally  used  for  these  schools  in  the 
summer.  It  is  said  of  the  Cohasset  teachers  :  '"  The  school 
dames  were  not  expensive  teachers.  They  were  women  of 
natural  aptitude  for  teaching,  who  eked  out  their  living  by 
gathering  the  children  of  their  neighborhood  into  a  kitchen 
or  an  attic,  or  some  other  convenient  room,  and  there  teach- 
ing the  little  ones  some  simple  ways  of  using  words  and 
numbers." 

The  instruction  in  these  dame  schools  was  very  elemen- 
tary :  the  rudiments  of  spelling,  reading  in  the  New  England 
\  Primer  and  the  Psalter,  and  learning  the  catechism  comprised 
it  all,  except  in  a  few  cases  ;  rarely  was  writing  or  arithmetic 
touched  upon.  Knitting  and  sewing  were  generally  taught 
the  girls.    Frequent  records  are  found  which  say  that  these 


THE  DAME  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DAME  183 

dames  are  hired  "  to  instruct  children  to  read."  The  time 
was  not  always  fully  employed  on  these  simple  studies.  Mr. 
Isaac  Parker,  who  was  bom  in  Maiden  in  1776,  went  to 
school  to  Mrs.  Rebecca  Parker.  In  later  life  he  remembered 
"  that  the  only  book  he  had  was  the  Psalter.  After  he  had 
read  and  spelled  a  little,  he  was  usually  put  to  shelling  beans 
or  some  other  useful  and  improving  occupation." 

Some  comments  on  these  schools  are  found  in  reminis- 
cences and  diaries  of  prominent  men.  Of  the  schools  in 
Norwich,  Connecticut,  it  is  said :  "  The  schoolmarm  of  former 
times,  with  her  swarming  hive  of  pupils,  was  an  instructor  of 
which  no  sample  remains  at  the  present  time.  She  was  a 
lifelong  incumbent,  never  going  out  of  one  round  of  per- 
formance ;  always  teaching  little  boys  and  girls  to  sit  up 
straight  and  treat  their  elders  with  respect ;  to  conquer  the 
spelling  book,  repeat  the  catechism,  never  throw  stones, 
never  tell  a  lie ;  the  boys  to  write  copies,  and  the  girls  to 
work  samplers." 

Of  the  dame  school  in  Hingham  it  is  said :  "  The  chil- 
dren were  seated  on  benches  around  three  sides  of  the  room,  / 
the  teacher  occupying  a  position  near  the  other  side.  The 
order  of  exercises  were  reading,  then  sewing,  with  an  allotted 
task  to  complete  before  the  close  of  the  school,  which  was 
ended  with  an  exercise  in  spelling." 

Channing  in  some  recollections  of  Newport  speaks  of  the 
urchin  "  being  pinned  to  the  mistress'  apron  "  during  the 
reading  lesson.  "  At  the  close  of  the  school  on  Friday  after- 
noons, we  were  sent  to  the  vacant  room  below  stairs  where 
we  recited  the  Commandments,  repeated  the  Lord's  prayer, 
and  received  commendation  or  censure  according  to  our  good 
or  bad  conduct  during  the  week." 

A  dame  school  in  Newport,  in  1 798,  is  thus  described : 
"  The  room  occupied  by  the  matron  teacher  and  her  daughter. 
Miss  Betsey  as  she  was  called,  was  a  low,  square  chamber  on 
the  second  floor,  having  no  furniture,  no  desks,  no  chairs, 


1 84      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

excepting  a  few  for  teachers  or  visitors.  The  children,  boys 
and  girls,  the  former  dressed  the  same  as  girls,  were  fur- 
nished by  their  parents  with  seats  made  of  round  blocks  of 
wood  of  various  heights." 

Reverend  John  Barnard,  speaking  of  a  school  he  attended 
about  1687,  wrote  :  "  My  parents  kept  me  close  at  school  to 
furnish  my  young  mind  with  the  knowledge  of  letters.  By  that 
time  I  had  a  little  passed  my  sixth  year.  I  had  left  my  read- 
ing school,  in  the  latter  part  of  which  my  mistress  made  me 
a  sort  of  usher,  appointing  me  to  teach  some  children  that 
were  older  than  myself  as  well  as  smaller  ones  ;  and  in  which 
time  I  had  read  my  Bible  through  thrice." 

Edward  Everett  says  this  of  a  school  he  attended  over  a 
century  later :  "'  When  I  was  three  years  old,  I  began  to 
attend  a  child's  school  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  my 
father's  house.  I  recollect  distinctly  holding  to  my  sister's 
apron  as  a  protection  against  the  cattle  in  the  road.  I  also 
remember  the  appearance  of  my  primer,  from  one  comer  of 
which  the  blue  paper  covering  had  been  torn.  .  .  .  My  patient 
and  faithful  instructress  taught  me  to  read  before  I  could 
speak  plain ;  considerately  mingling  the  teacher  and  the 
nurse,  she  kept  a  pillow  and  a  bit  of  carpet  in  the  comer 
of  the  schoolroom  where  the  little  heads,  throbbing  from  a 
premature  struggle  with  the  tall  double  letters  and  amper- 
sand, with  Korah's  troops  and  Vashti's  pride,  were  permitted, 
nay,  encouraged  to  go  to  sleep." 

Another  account,  one  given  by  Henry  K.  Oliver,  describ- 
ing a  school  he  attended,  will  suffice  to  give  a  clear  idea  of 
these  dame  schools.  He  says,  after  speaking  of  his  first 
school,  to  which  he  went  at  five  years  of  age :  "  From  this 
school  I  was  removed  to  another.  Madam  Tileston's,  where 
I  was  taught  elementary  reading  and  spelling  after  the  same 
ancestral  fashion ;  that  is,  I  received  about  twenty  minutes 
of  instruction  each  half  day,  and  as  school  was  kept  three 
hundred  and  sixty  minutes  daily,  I  had  the  privilege  of  forty 


THE  DAME  SCHOOL  AND  SCHOOL  DAME  185 

minutes'  worth  of  teaching  and  three  hundred  and  twenty 
minutes'  worth  of  sitting  still,  if  I  could,  which  I  could  not, 
playing,  whispering,  and  general  waste  of  time,  though  oc- 
casionally a  picture  book  relieved  the  dreary  monotony. 

"  My  nervous  temperament,  dislike  of  confinement  at  busy 
nothingness,  want  of  affection  for  books  (slates  we  had  none), 
often  entitled  me  to  Madam  Tileston's  customary  punishment 
of  sundry  smart  taps  on  the  head  with  the  middle  finger  of 
her  right  hand,  said  finger  being  armed  for  its  own  defense 
with  a  large  and  rough  steel  thimble." 

The  dame  school  lasted  well  into  the  nineteenth  century 
before  it  became  fully  merged  into  the  public  school,  and 
even  then  it  savored  little  of  the  primary  school  of  to-day. 
Mrs.  Livermore  gives  a  very  vivid  picture  of  one  school  she 
attended  in  Boston  about  1825:  "The  primary  schools, 
which  received  children  at  the  age  of  four  years,  were  very 
shabby.  As  I  remember  them,  they  were  kept,  not  taught, 
by  elderly  or  middle-aged  dames,  who  dozed  in  their  chairs, 
took  snuff,  drank  tea,  and  often  something  stronger  from  a 
bottle  stowed  away  in  a  cupboard.  At  one  of  these  schools 
kept  by  Ma'am  Adams,  I  was  daily  sent  to  the  grocery  store 
for  the  teacher's  1 1  o'clock  dram  of  New  England  or  Santa 
Cruz  rum,  until  my  mother  discovered  the  practice,  when 
my  father  called  upon  the  mistress  and  forbade  her  to  send 
me  on  such  errands. 

"  The  school  benches  on  which  we  sat  were  without  backs 
and  were  sometimes  so  high  that  we  beguiled  the  weary  school 
hours  by  swinging  our  feet  violently  back  and  forth,  by  which 
process  we  worked  off  a  good  deal  of  animal  vigor.  We  some- 
times tipped  off  the  bench  backwards,  and  fell  atop  the  children 
behind  us,  when  we  all  set  up  a  prodigious  howling ;  not  be- 
cause we  were  hurt,  but  we  enjoyed  the  noise  hugely  and 
prolonged  the  commotion  as  long  as  we  could.  When  the 
drowsiness  of  the  dame  deepened  into  a  snoring  nap,  we  ran 
about  the  room  and  with  the  zest  that  accompanies  the  doihg 


186  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

of  forbidden  things,  we  swiftly  overturned  the  benches,  mis- 
placed the  articles  on  the  table,  threw  the  spelling  cards  out 
of  the  window,  and  not  infrequently  ran  out  into  the  street. 
When  the  uproar  of  the  mischievous  children  awoke  the  dame 
from  her  slumbers,  she  started  up  and  flourished  through  the 
school  room  with  a  long  switch,  the  stinging  blows  from  which 
descended  like  the  rain  from  heaven,  on  the  good  and  bad 
alike,  and  this  was  considered  discipline." 

Charlestown,  in  1814,  voted  one  thousand  dollars  in  addi- 
tion to  the  usual  appropriation  "  for  the  education  of  young 
children."  Twenty-one  districts  were  formed,  and  in  each  a 
mistress  was  appointed  "  for  the  instruction  of  those  from 
four  to  seven  years  of  age,  the  whole  number  of  whom  is  425." 
The  committee  in  making  its  report  said :  "  The  public  support 
of  schools,  kept  by  women,  for  primary  instruction,  and  free 
to  every  inhabitant  under  the  direction  of  the  trustees,  though 
novel,  is  honorable  to  the  town  and  affords  a  pleasing  presage 
of  future  improvement." 

These  ancient  dames  performed  an  important  service  in  the 
development  of  the  present  school  system.  They  were  not 
without  honor  in  their  own  country.  The  epitaph  given  to 
Miriam  Wood  in  1706,  when  she  was  buried  in  Dorchester, 
applied  to  many  of  them  : 

A  Woman  well  beloved  of  all  her  neighbors  for  her  care  of  small 
Folks  education,  their  number  being  great, 

that  when  she  dy'd  she  scarcely  left  her  mate. 
So  Wise,  Discreet  was  her  behaviour 
that  she  was  well  esteemed  by  neighbours. 
She  lived  in  love  with  all  to  dye. 
So  let  her  rest  to  Eternity, 


^ 


VII 

THE  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS 

The  support  of  schools  had  to  be  worked  out  by  the  colo- 
nists from  their  own  experience.  They-  had  come  from  a  land 
where  there  were  no  free  public  schools.  Schools  in  England 
were  endowed  tuition  schools.  Following  the  light  they  had, 
the  colonists  established  the  early  schools  with  the  idea  of  sup- 
porting them,  not  by,  general  taxation  but  by  income  from  land 
grants,  private  donations,  subscriptions,  tuition. from  the  chil- 
dren, and  various  other  minor  ways.  Partial  aid  was  granted 
by  the  towns  to  eke  out  the  master's  scanty  living,  and  in  time 
full  taxation  resulted,  though  only  after  many  years.  The 
first  Boston  school  was  established  by  subscription  ;  the  first 
Dorchester  school,  on  the  rent  of  Thompson's  island.  In  the 
oft-quoted  lecture-day  notice  of  Salem,  in  1644,  is  an  instance 
of  the  private  subscription  :  "  Ordered,  that  a  notice  be  pub- 
lished next  lecture  day  that  such  as  have  children  to  keep  at 
school  would  bring  in  their  names  and  what  they  will  give 
for  one  whole  year,  and  also  if  any  poor  body  hath  children 
or  a  child  to  be  put  to  school  and  not  able  to  pay  for  their 
schooling,  that  the  town  will  pay  for  it  by  rate."  In  Boston 
"at  a  general  meeting  of  the  richer  inhabitants,  there  was 
given  towards  the  maintenance  of  a  free  schoolmaster  for  the 
youth  with  us,  Mr.  Daniel  Maud  being  now  also  chosen  there- 
unto. The  Gov,  Mr.  Henry  Vane,  Esq.,  ;^io.  The  Dep.  Gov. 
Mr.  John  Winthrop,  Esq.,  £^0,  &c,"  In  all  there  were  forty- 
five  contributors.  At  Marshfield,  in  1645,  ten  persons  signed 
an  agreement  to  pay  from  five  to  twenty  shillings  each  to  sup- 
port a  school,  besides  paying  for  the  children  they  sent.  For 
twenty  years  the  second  parish  school  in  Bath,  Maine,  was 
maintained  by  private  subscription.  t 

187 


I88  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

The  early  laws  recommending  the  establishment  of  schools 
had  little  to  say  about  how  they  should  be  supported.  In  the 
Plymouth  Colony  the  Cape  Cod  fisheries  were  regulated  by 
law,  and  the  income  accruing  from  this  was,  in  1663,  granted 
for  the  support  of  a  school  in  the  colony.  The  law  read  :  "  All 
such  profits  as  may  or  shall  accrue  annually  to  the  colony  from 
fishing  with  nets  or  seines  at  Cape  Cod  for  mackerel,  bass  or 
herring,  to  be  improved  for  and  towards  a  free  school  in  some 
town  in  this  jurisdiction  for  the  training  up  of  youth  in  liter- 
ature for  the  good  and  benefit  of  posterity."  Later,  in  1677, 
towns  of  fifty  families  were  enjoined  to  obtain  a  grammar 
master,  and  such  townships  "shall  allow  at  least  ^1^12  in 
current  merchantable  pay,  to  be  raised  by  a  town  rate  on  all 
the  inhabitants  of  said  town  ;  and  those  who  have  the  more 
immediate  benefit  thereof,  with  what  others  shall  voluntarily 
give,  shall  make  up  the  residue  necessary  to  maintain  the 
same  "  ;  and  the  money  from  the  Cape  fisheries  was  to  be 
distributed  among  the  towns  maintaining  such  schools.  The 
Massachusetts  Bay  law  of  1647  ordered  "that  every  town- 
ship in  this  jurisdiction  after  the  Lord  hath  increased  them 
to  the  number  of  fifty  householders  shall  forthwith  appoint 
one  within  their  town  to  teach  all  such  children  as  shall  resort 
to  him  to  write  and  read,  whose  wages  shall  be  paid  either  by 
the  parents  or  masters  of  such  children,  or  by  the  inhabitants 
in  general,  by  way  of  supply,  as  the  major  part  of  those  that 
order  the  prudentials  of  the  town  shall  appoint :  provided 
those  that  send  their  children  be  not  oppressed  by  paying 
much  more  than  they  can  have  them  taught  for  in  other 
towns."  The  New  Haven  law  of  1657  was  based  on  the  same 
fundamental  principles,  but  was  more  specific.  It  stipulated 
concerning  the  schoolmaster's  salary  that  "one  third  part 
shall  be  paid  by  the  town  in  general  as  other  rates,  the  good 
education  of  children  being  of  public  concernment,  and  the 
other  two  thirds  by  them  who  have  the  benefit  thereof  by 
the  teaching  of  their  children." 


THE  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS  189 

The  Connecticut  law  of  1677  ordered  that  "  where  schools 
are  to  be  kept  in  any  town,  whether  it  be  county  town  or  other, 
what  shall  be  necessary  to  the  meeting  the  charge  of  such 
school,  it  shall  be  raised  upon  the  inhabitants  by  way  of  rate, 
except  any  town  shall  agree  upon  some  other  way  to  raise  the 
maintenance  of  him  they  shall  employ  in  the  aforesaid  work, 
any  order  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding."  In  1687  there 
was  a  surplus  in  the  public  treasury,  and  it  was  ordered  dis- 
tributed '"  to  the  several  counties  by  equal  proportion  according 
as  the  list  of  their  estates,  October  last,  will  give  to  each  ;  by 
them  to  be  improved  for  the  encouragement  of  the  grammar 
schools  in  each  county  town  where  they  are ;  but  in  defect  of 
such,  to  other  schools." 

In  1700  Connecticut  made  a  direct  colony  tax  as  follows : 
"  And  towards  the  maintenance  of  the  schools  respectively, 
it  is  ordered  that  from  the  county  rates  as  the  county  rates  are 
paid  by  the  treasurer,  shall  be  paid  yearly  40s.  upon  every 
j^iooo  of  the  public  list  of  persons  and  estates  unto  the 
several  towns  of  this  Colony,  and  proportionally  for  lesser 
sums,  for  the  use  of  their  schools  as  aforesaid ;  and  it  is 
further  ordered  that  the  aforementioned  sums  for  the  use  of 
the  schools  shall  by  the  treasurer  be  added  to  the  assessments 
of  each  town  respectively  in  his  order  to  the  constables,  and 
by  the  treasurer's  order  paid  by  the  constables  to  the  several 
schoolmasters,  and  where  the  abovesaid  allowance  shall  not 
be  sufficient  for  the  maintenance  of  the  school,  there  a  suffi- 
cient maintenance  shall  be  made  up  of  such  estates  as  hath 
been  bequeathed  by  any  for  that  use,  and  for  want  thereof, 
the  one  half  to  be  paid  by  the  town  and  the  other  by  the 
children  that  go  to  school,  unless  any  town  agree  otherwise." 
The  law  of  17 17,  placing  the  schools  in  the  control  of  par- 
ishes, authorized  the  majority  of  the  householders  in  any 
parish  "  to  lay  taxes  for  the  support  of  the  school,  to  appoint 
a  collector  and  make  regulations  for  the  management  of 
the  same."  * 


I90  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

In  1753  the  forty  shillings  on  the  one  thousand  pounds 
was  changed  to  "'  the  sum  of  los.  lawful  money  "  on  the  one 
thousand  pounds.  In  1766  it  was  made  twenty  shillings,  and 
in  I  "j^y  the  former  tax  of  forty  shillings  was  restored.  The 
working  out  of  a  method  of  support  was  finally  crystallized  in 
the  revised  law  of  1799  :  "That  each  school  society  in  this 
state  shall,  by  their  vote  in  legal  meeting,  have  full  power  to 
grant  rates  for  the  building  and  repairing  of  schoolhouses,  and 
the  supporting  of  schools  therein,  or  to  make  any  lawful  agree- 
ments for  the  same  purposes,  and  what  such  society  shall  agree 
upon  and  vote,  respecting  the  encouragement  and  support  of 
schools,  shall  bind  itself  and  all  its  members." 

The  New  Hampshire  law  of  1680  established  certain  grades 
of  schools  which  were  to  be  supported  in  part  by  tuition,  and 
the  amount  to  be  raised  for  the  support  of  the  schools  was  left 
to  the  discretion  of  the  towns.  The  law  of  1694  gave  the 
selectmen  power  to  raise  money  by  assessment  for  all  school 
purposes.  Tuition  played  a  substantial  part  in  the  support 
of  schools  ;  the  method  of  laying  this  tax  on  the  children  was 
varied.  There  were  at  least  six  ways  :  a  rate  for  each  study, 
a  rate  per  week,  a  rate  per  quarter,  a  rate  per  year,  a  sort  of 
poll  tax  according  to  the  census  of  children,  and  an  indeter- 
minate rate  according  to  an  agreement  between  master  and 
parents. 

At  Watertown,  in  165 1,  "every  person  that  learneth  Eng- 
lish only  shall  pay  three  pence  a  week  and  such  as  write  or 
study  Latin  shall  pay  four  pence."  The  schoolmaster  was 
ordered  to  keep  a  strict  account  of  the  weeks  each  attended, 
and  collect.  If  any  were  delinquent,  the  names  were  to  be 
reported  to  the  selectmen.  If  tuition  dues  were  not  equal  to 
the  agreed-upon  salary,  the  town  was  to  pay  the  balance. 
Children  coming  from  out  of  town  were  to  pay  twenty-five 
shillings  a  year.  In  1667  the  town  agreed  to  pay  the  thirty 
pounds  out  of  the  town  treasury,  except  such  as  might  come 
from  the  tuition  of  out-of-town  children.    The  school  was 


THE  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS  191 

made  free  to  the  town  children.  Northampton,  in  1667, 
agreed  with  the  schoolmaster  that '"  for  the  year  he  is  to  have 
out  of  the  town  stock  ^10  which  the  town  promises  to  pay ; 
4  pence  per  week  for  such  as  are  in  the  primer  and  other 
English  books ;  6  pence  per  week  to  learn  the  '  accidence,' 
writing,  casting  accounts.  In  case  there  be  a  neglect  that 
they  do  not  come  constant,  three  days  shall  be  accounted  as 
a  week." 

Springfield,  in  1677,  granted  admittance  and  entertain- 
ment to  William  Madison,  schoolmaster,  "he  taking  3d.  of 
those  per  week  whom  he  teaches  to  read  English,  and  4d.  per 
week  of  those  he  teaches  both  to  read  and  to  write,  also  4d. 
of  those  whom  he  teaches  writing  wholly ;  the  parents  or 
persons  being  not  to  allow  more ;  but  the  town  for  this  year 
as  an  encouragement  to  him  in  the  work  do  agree  to  allow 
him  the  rent  of  the  land  in  Chicopee."  In  1687  Northampton 
paid  the  master  forty  pounds  under  this  agreement :  "  The 
town  agreed  to  pay  in  general  by  way  of  rate  the  above  named 
sum  of  jC40,  that  is  so  much  of  it  as  the  scholars,  readers  at 
3d.  per  week  and  writers  at  4d.  per  week,  did  lack  of  amount- 
ing to  the  above  said  sum,  the  schoolmaster  being  to  keep  an 
exact  account  of  what  scholars  come  to  him,  and  how  long 
they  were  with  him,  and  the  amount  thereof  to  deliver  to  the 
selectmen."  Newbury,  in  1652,  voted  twenty  pounds  "for 
to  maintain  a  schoolmaster  out  of  the  town  rate."  In  1653 
an  equal  rate  was  levied  on  each  estate  to  maintain  a  school, 
but  seventeen  men  dissented,  as  they  lived  too  far  away  to 
send  their  children  to  the  school.  In  168 1  it  was  voted, 
"  Whereas  the  scholars  are  so  few,  that  such  as  come  to  learn 
English  shall  pay  3  pence  a  week  for  schooling."  In  Bristol, 
in  1699,  reading  cost  threepence  per  week,  writing  threepence, 
and  Latin  fourpence.  Plymouth,  in  1699,  ordered  that "  every 
scholar  that  comes  to  write  or  cypher  or  to  learn  Latin  shall 
pay  3  pence  per  week,  for  to  read  only  to  pay  3  half  pence 
per  week."    The  remainder  necessary  for  the  school  was  "  to 


192  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

be  levied  by  rate  on  the  whole  inhabitants  in  their  just  and 
equal  proportion."  At  Concord,  in  1701,  grammar  scholars 
paid  fourpence  and  reading  scholars  twopence  per  week 
toward  the  support  of  the  school. 

Newton,  in  1 701 ,  voted,  "  Those  that  send  children  to  school 
shall  pay  3d.  per  week  for  those  who  learn  to  read  and  4d.  for 
those  who  learn  to  write  and  cypher,  and  all  may  send  to  either 
school."  Lynn,  in  1702,  raised  ten  pounds  for  a  master,  "and 
such  master  to  have  over  and  above  the  said  ;^io,  2d.  per 
week  for  such  as  are  sent  to  read,  3d.  per  week  for  them  that 
are  sent  to  write  and  cypher,  and  6d.  per  week  for  them  that 
are  sent  to  learn  Latin,  to  be  paid  by  parents  and  masters 
that  send  their  children  or  servants  to  learn  as  aforesaid." 
Sandwich  tuition  rates,  in  17 13,  were,  "Those  who  send  to 
pay  to  the  town  for  pupils  in  reading  alone  3  shillings  per 
week,  writing  additional  5  shillings,  reading,  writing  and 
arithmetic  6  shillings,  and  Latin  and  Greek  8  shillings." 
Children  from  other  towns  could  attend  at  these  rates. 
Lexington,  in  1714,  "voted  that  all  scholars  that  come  to 
school,  to  pay  2d.  per  week  for  reading  and  3d.  per  week 
for  writing  and  cyphering ;  and  what  that  amounts  to  at  the 
year's  end,  so  much  of  the  ;^  1 5  to  be  deducted  and  stopped 
to  the  treasury  the  next  year." 

In  1749  the  Beverly  master  was  required  to  return  to  the 
selectmen  a  list  "  of  the  names  of  parents  and  masters,  and 
the  number  of  children  and  servants  belonging  to  each  that 
were  instructed  by  him."  The  selectmen  levied  a  tax  upon 
these  parents  and  masters,  and  gave  the  list  into  the  hands 
of  the  constables  for  collection.  The  selectmen  could  exempt 
"  such  as  they  judged  proper." 

As  late  as  1 76 1  Deerfield  charged  two  and  one-half  pence 
per  week  for  reading  scholars,  and  one  and  one-half  pence 
per  week  for  writing  scholars.  These  records  cover  over  three 
generations  and  show  that  "  Electives  "  are  not  really  modem. 
While  in  general  the  rate  for  reading  was  threepence  per 


THE  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS  193 

week,  it  varied  from  one  and  one-half  pence  to  threepence ; 
writing,  usually  fourpence,  ranged  from  one  and  one-half  pence 
to  sixpence ;  Latin,  usually  from  fourpence  to  sixpence,  in  one 
town  fell  as  low  as  threepence.  Cyphering  held  pretty  steadily 
at  threepence,  though  it  is  not  often  mentioned,  and  then 
almost  always  in  connection  with  writing.  There  was  no 
uniformity  in  the  rates  ;  seemingly  they  were  determined  by 
the  wealth  of  the  town  or  by  the  votes  of  those  who  had  no 
children  to  send.  Other  towns  adopted  the  system  of  a  weekly 
tuition  charge.  This,  too,  varied,  though  the  general  rate  was 
threepence  per  week.  Meriden,  Connecticut,  in  1678,  voted 
'"  to  allow  for  the  encouragement  of  such  a  schoolmaster  as 
the  selectmen  shall  approve  of,  ^10  a  year  in  general  and 
3  pence  a  week  for  all  scholars,  males  or  females,  from  6  to 
16,  as  long  as  they  shall  go  to  school."  For  many  years  the 
town  raised  from  four  to  six  pounds  out  of  the  town  treasury 
and  required  the  children  to  pay  tuition.  In  1691  the  town 
voted  "  that  all  the  money  for  schools  should  be  raised  by 
those  who  sent  children  to  school."  In  1698  it  was  voted 
that  each  pupil  should  pay  a  penny  a  week. 

Norwich  allowed  the  schoolmaster  twenty-five  pounds  "  to 
be  paid  partly  by  the  children,"  those  "entered  for  the  full 
time  to  pay  9  shillings  and  other  children  that  come  occa- 
sionally to  allow  3  pence  per  week ;  the  rest  to  be  paid  by 
the  town."  In  1680  the  schools  were  committed  to  the 
selectmen  with  four  injunctions,  two  of  which  are  "  that  par- 
ents pay  their  proportion  according  to  what  is  judged  just," 
and  "that  whatever  is  additionally  necessary  for  the  perfecting 
the  maintenance  of  a  schoolmaster  is  a  charge  and  expense 
belonging  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  and  to  be  gathered 
as  any  other  rates."  Bristol,  in  1692,  voted  "that  each  person 
that  hath  children  in  town  ready  to  go  to  school  shall  pay 
3  pence  the  week  for  each  child's  schooling  to  a  schoolmaster, 
and  the  town  by  rate  according  to  each  ratable  estate  shall 
make  the  wages  amount  to  £,2\  the  year."    Wobum,  in  1760, 


194  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

voted  "  that  every  person  that  should  send  any  child  or  serv- 
ants to  the  above  said  school  in  Woburn,  shall  pay  in  to  the 
selectmen  of  said  town  3d.  per  week  for  every  child  or  serv- 
ant that  is  sent  or  comes  to  said  school ;  and  the  selectmen 
are  to  improve  all  such  sums  so  paid  in  to  them  towards  the 
discharging  the  schoolmaster's  salary ;  but  if  any  shall  send 
their  children  to  said  school  that  in  the  judgment  of  the 
selectmen  are  not  able  to  pay  as  above  said,  they  have  their 
liberty  to  send  their  children  to  said  school .  at  the  public 
charge  of  the  town." 

Manchester,  in  17 17,  voted  that  "every  child  sent  to  the 
schoolmaster  shall  pay  5d.  per  week."  The  master's  salary 
was  twenty  pounds,  ten  of  which  was  taxed  on  the  town. 

The  quarterly  rate  appears  to  have  been  made  for  a  larger 
income  and  to  minimize  the  schoolmaster's  bookkeeping. 
This  arrangement  was  adopted  in  Hartford  as  early  as  1643, 
when  at  a  general  town  meeting  it  was  ordered :  "  That 
Mr.  Andrews  shall  teach  the  children  in  the  school  one  year 
next  ensuing  from  the  25th  of  March,  1643,  ^"^  that  he  shall 
have  for  his  pains  £,  1 6,  and  therefore  the  townsmen  shall  go 
and  enquire  who  will  engage  themselves  to  send  their  chil- 
dren ;  and  all  that  do  so  shall  pay  for  one  quarter  at  the 
least,  and  for  more  if  they  do  send  them,  after  the  proportion 
of  20s.  the  year,  and  if  they  go  any  weeks  more  than  an  even 
quarter,  they  shall  pay  6  pence  a  week ;  and  if  any  would 
send  their  children  and  are  not  able  to  pay  for  their  teaching, 
they  shall  give  notice  of  it  to  the  townsmen  and  they  shall 
pay  it  at  the  town's  charge ;  and  Mr.  Andrews  shall  keep 
the  account  between  the  children's  schooling  and  himself  and 
send  notice  of  the  times  of  payment  and  demand  it ;  and  if 
his  wages  do  not  come  in,  the  townsmen  must  collect  and  pay 
it ;  or  if  the  engagements  come  not  to  ;^i6,  then  they  shall 
pay  what  is  wanting  at  the  town's  charges." 

Guilford  early  voted  "  that  whoever  shall  put  any  children 
to  school  to  Mr.  Higginson,  shall  not  put  for  less  than  a 


THE  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS  195 

quarter's  time  at  once.  And  so  all  shall  be  reckoned  with 
quarterly,  though  they  have  neglected  to  send  them  all  the 
time,  after  the  rate  of  4s.  per  quarter,  by  the  treasurer."  At 
New  Haven,  in  1650,  "  it  was  propounded  that  a  schoolmaster 
might  be  provided  for  the  town.  The  Court  approved  the 
motion  and  chose  the  Magistrates,  Elders,  Deacons,  and 
Deputies  for  the  particular  court,  to  consider  when  to  have 
one  and  what  salary  to  allow,  and  whether  the  town  should 
not  bear  a  part,  and  the  parents  of  the  children  taught  a  part, 
and  whether  the  parents  should  not  be  compelled  to  put  their 
children  to  learning,  at  least  to  learn  English  and  to  write." 
In  165 1  "  for  the  encouragement  of  Mr.  James  in  teaching 
school,  the  Court  ordered  that  he  should  have  jQio  for  the 
year,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  town  treasury ;  the  year  to  begin 
when  he  begins  teaching.  The  rest  he  is  to  take  of  the  parents 
of  the  children  that  he  teacheth,  by  the  quarter,  to  make  him 
up  a  full  recompense  for  his  pains."  The  next  year  "  the 
town  generally  was  willing  to  encourage  Mr.  James  his  coming, 
and  would  allow  him  at  least  ;!^io  a  year  out  of  the  treasury, 
and  the  rest  he  might  take  of  the  parents  of  the  children  he 
teacheth,  by  the  quarter  as  he  did  before,  to  make  it  up  a 
comfortable  maintenance." 

Windsor,  Connecticut,  was  divided  in  sentiment  in  1 674  ; 
some  wanted  the  town  to  pay  the  school  expense,  others 
wanted  the  scholars  to  pay  five  shillings  per  quarter.  It  was 
finally  voted  that  the  children  should  pay.  At  Meriden, 
Connecticut,  in  1702,  "each  scholar  was  to  pay  two  shillings 
per  quarter  in  addition  to  the  town  grant."  The  minimum 
time  for  which  tuition  was  to  be  charged  was  still  further 
lengthened  in  171 3,  when  "the  town  voted  that  the  money 
concerning  the  school  respecting  children,  shall  be  raised 
upon  all  the  children  that  live  within  a  mile  and  a  half  of 
the  schoolhouse,  from  6  years  old  to  10,  whether  they  go  to 
school  or  not,  and  all  the  children  that  go  to  school  and  enter 
the  school  a  week,  shall  pay  for  half  a  year."  * 


196  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Quarterly  payments  seldom  appear  except  in  the  Connec- 
ticut records,  though  Braintree,  in  1700,  voted  that  for  the 
year  ensuing  "every  scholar  shall  pay  for  his  entry  into  the 
school  one  shilling,  and  so  successively  for  every  quarter, 
and  this  shall  be  a  part  of  the  school  salary  to  be  paid  unto 
the  schoolmaster,  and  he  to  give  an  account  of  all  that  comes 
to  the  selectmen."  Attendance  at  school  was  optional ;  be- 
cause of  conditions  it  must  have  been  very  irregular.  The 
longer  the  period  for  which  the  tuition  was  fixed,  the  more 
certain  the  master  was  of  his  salary,  and  the  less  the  town 
would  be  compelled  to  pay  from  its  treasury. 

Dedham,  in  1652,  voted  "that  all  such  inhabitants  in  our 
town  as  have  male  children  or  servants  betwixt  the  ages  of 
four  and  fourteen  years  shall  pay  for  each  such  to  the 
schoolmaster  "  five  shillings  yearly.  If  these  did  not  make 
twenty  pounds,  the  rest  was  to  be  raised  "  by  way  of  rating 
upon  estates  according  to  the  usual  manner."  Payment  was 
to  be  made  in  two  equal  payments  each  half  year  and  was 
to  continue  for  seven  years.  The  school  tax  was  often  a 
separate  tax  like  the  minister's.  In  1668  the  school  tax 
was  five  shillings  per  scholar  and  on  estates  one  penny  per 
pound.  Medfield,  in  1655,  voted  fifteen  pounds  "to  be 
raised  by  rate  according  as  men  have  taken  up  lands,  and  the 
rest  of  the  maintenance  to  be  raised  upon  the  children  that 
go  to  school."  In  1684  "  in  the  winter  all  pupils  between 
seven  and  fourteen  were  to  pay  3  shillings  each  to  raise  the 
schoolmaster's  pay,  those  under  seven,  i  shilling  6  pence." 
The  summer  price  was  one  shilling.  At  Hadley,  in  1676, 
there  being  great  failure  in  sending  children  to  school,  the 
selectmen  were  ordered  "  to  take  a  list  of  all  children  from 
6  to  12  years  old."  All  of  these  were  expected  to  attend  the 
s(;hool,  and  if  any  did  not  go,  they  were  "  to  pay  the  same 
as  those  that  went,  except  some  poor  men's  children."  In 
1678  male  children  from  six  to  twelve  were  "to  pay  los.  a 
year  if  they  went  and  5s.  if  they  did  not  go."   In  168 1  "  Latin 


THE  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS  197 

scholars  were  to  pay  20s.  a  year  and  English  scholars  i6s. ; 
those  from  6  to  12  that  did  not  go  were  to  pay  8s.  a  year." 

Weymouth,  in  1697,  voted  "Parents  shall  pay  3s.  for  each 
child  sent  to  school  between  the  ages  of  8  and  14  years,  .  .  . 
the  remainder  to  be  made  up  by  a  tax  upon  all  who  live 
within  two  miles  of  the  schoolhouse."  In  1700  Scituate 
"  desired  James  Torry  to  teach"  children  and  youth  to  read 
and  write  as  the  law  requireth,  and  said  Torry  consented  to 
make  trial  thereof  awhile  on  these  considerations,  that  he  be 
paid  20s.  in  money  for  each  and  every  person  sent  to  school, 
the  parent  or  master  engaging  to  pay  15  s.  of  the  said  twenty, 
the  town  having  agreed  to  pay  the  other  5s.  for  each,  and 
that  those  that  send  any  children  or  youth  to  the  school 
shall  provide  books,  pen,  ink  and  paper  suitable  for  their 
^  learning  as  aforesaid."  At  Wethersfield,  Connecticut,  in 
1658,  the  schoolmaster's  salary  was  twenty-five  pounds,  "  and 
the  £.2''^  is  to  be  raised  of  the  children,  8  shillings  per  head 
of  such  as  come  to  school,  and  the  remainder  by  rate  of  all 
the  inhabitants  made  by  the  lists  of  estates."  Norwich  early 
voted  a  schoolmaster  at  a  salary  of  ";^25  in  provision  pay 
for  his  service ;  each  scholar  to  pay  9s.  for  the  9  months 
and  the  remainder  to  be  paid  by  the  town  rate."  In  17 14 
forty  shillings  on  one  thousand  pounds  was  voted  "  for  the 
maintaining  of  the  school,  provided  the  scholars  of  the  town 
plat  pay  to  the  schoolmaster  what  fails  in  the  sum  agreed 
for,  and  the  farmers  have  liberty  to  send  their  children 
free  of  cost."  At  Portsmouth,  in  1699,  the  schoolmaster 
"proposed  keeping  school  in  the  town  on  the  terms  as 
formerly,  viz.,  24s.  for  a  Latin  scholar,  20s.  for  a  writer  and 
cypherer,  and  i6s.  for  a  reader,  qualified  as  formerly."  The 
next  year  he  was  to  have  a  different  sum  and  "  every  Latin 
scholar  to  pay  to  the  master  20s.  per  annum  overplus  for  his 
encouragement." 

For  some  years  a  note  was  annually  fastened  to  the  school- 
house  door  in  Portland,  reading  as  follows  :  "  Notice  is  hereby 


198  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

given  to  such  persons  as  are  disposed  to  send  their  children 
to  school  in  this  place  the  ensuing  year,  that  the  year  com- 
mences this  day,  and  the  price  will  be  as  usual,  viz.,  i8  shil- 
lings and  8  pence  per  year  for  each  scholar  that  comes  by 
the  year  and  8  shillings  per  quarter  for  such  as  come  by  the 
quarter."  This  one  was  posted  in  1753  and  was  signed  by 
Stephen  Longfellow.  At  Providence,  in  1767,  nonresident 
freeholders  could  send  children  by  paying  twelve  shillings  to 
the  school  tax  annually,  and  inhabitants  who  paid  twelve  shil- 
lings "  if  they  have  no  children  nor  apprentices  of  their  own, 
shall  have  liberty  to  send  the  children  of  any  friend  or  relative 
of  theirs  living  out  of  this  town." 

In  the  struggle  to  equalize  the  school  burden,  some  towns 
endeavored  to  tax  all  children  within  certain  ages,  leaving  it 
to  the  parent  to  see  if  the  children  received  the  education 
the  tax  paid  for.  In  1656  Rowley  taxed  all  male  children 
between  the  ages  of  four  and  eight  years  of  age  toward  pay- 
ing the  master.  In  1668  Braintree  "did  consent  to  lay  the 
school  land,  that  is  to  say  the  annual  income  of  it,  for  a 
salary  for  a  schoolmaster  and  to  make  it  up  ;^20  besides 
what  every  child  must  give."  Brookline,  in  1687,  raised 
jCi2  "equally  by  rate,"  and  the  rest  necessary  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  school  was  "laid  equally  upon  the  children's 
heads."  At  Dedham,  in  1693,  "  It  being  proposed  how 
they  would  raise  a  salary  for  the  maintenance  of  a  school, 
whether  they  will  raise  the  one  half  upon  the  estates  and  the 
other  half  upon  the  heads  of  male  children  that  live  within 
three  miles  or  thereabouts,  and  this  was  voted  in  the  affirma- 
tive. These  male  children  are  to  be  rated  from  7  until  they 
be  12  years  old."  The  next  year  a  similar  vote  was  passed, 
only  it  was  given  as  "  such  male  children  as  live  within  three 
miles  of  the  meetinghouse y  At  Weymouth,  in  1697,  chil- 
dren from  eight  to  fourteen  paid  three  shillings ;  the  rest  was 
raised  "  by  a  tax  upon  all  who  lived  within  two  miles  of  the 
schoolhouse." 


THE  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS  199 

• 

Deerfield,  in  1698,  "agreed  and  voted  that  a  school  be 
continued  in  the  town  ;  that  all  heads  of  families  that  have 
children,  whether  male  or  female,  between  the  ages  of  six  and 
ten  years,  shall  pay  by  the  poll  to  said  school,  whether  they 
send  such  children  to  school  or  not."  Two  weeks  later  "  it 
was  then  agreed  that  what  children  soever  shall  be  sent  to 
said  school  above  the  age  of  ten  years  or  under  the  age  of 
six  years  shall  pay  according  to  the  time  they  shall  improve 
said  school."  Norwalk,  in  1701,  agreed  "  that  for  the  paying 
of  the  charge  of  a  schoolmaster  shall  be  as  followeth  ;  that  all 
children  from  the  age  of  5  years  old  to  the  age  of  1 2  years, 
shall  all  pay  an  equal  proportion,  excepting  females  ;  all  that 
do  not  go  to  school  and  all  youths  above  the  age  of  12  years 
as  go  in  the  day,  shall  pay  equal  with  the  others  above  said ; 
and  all  night  scholars  shall  pay  a  third  part  so  much  as  the 
day  scholars." 

Colchester,  Connecticut,  in  17 19,  voted  "that  all  the  chil- 
dren from  5  years  old  to  the  age  of  10  years,  that  live  within 
one  mile  and  a  half  from  the  place  where  the  school  is  kept, 
shall  pay  to  the  said  school  as  the  law  directs,  whether  they 
go  to  said  school  or  not ;  and  those  that  are  above  i  o  years 
of  age  shall  pay  only  for  the  time  as  they  do  go."  Glaston- 
bury, Connecticut,  in  1701,  voted,  "A  sufficient  school 
master  to  be  procured,  to  be  paid  the  40s.  on  the  ;^iooo 
county  rate,  and  the  remainder,  one  half  by  rate  on  the 
town,  and  the  other  half  by  those  who  have  children  of  suit- 
able age  to  attend,  whether  they  go  to  school  or  not."  In  1 7 1 2, 
"boys  between  6  and  12  to  pay  whether  they  go  or  not." 
In  1717,  "  all  boys  between  6  and  1 1,  except  those  living  be- 
yond a  certain  distance,  to  pay  whether  they  go  to  school  or 
not."  In  1735,  "the  colony  money  being  deducted,  the  re- 
mainder to  be  paid  half  by  the  society  and  half  by  the  chil- 
dren." In  1749,  "the  boys'  heads  to  pay  ;^40,"  This  rate 
on  children's  heads  was  often  called  "  head  money."  In  1760 
school  expenses  were  paid,  "  half  by  society,  half  by  childreij's 


200  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

• 
heads."  At  New  Milford,  Connecticut,  in  172 1,  "it  was 
agreed  by  vote  there  should  be  a  school  maintained  for  four 
months  this  winter  following,  the  town  to  bear  half  the  charge 
of  said  school."  In  1724  it  was  "voted  that  children  from 
the  age  of  7  to  12  shall  pay  to  the  school  hire  in  New  Mil- 
ford.  .  .  .  Children  that  are  above  12  years  of  age  or  under 
7  shall  pay  to  the  school  according  to  the  time  they  go." 

Groton,  in  1778,  voted  "that  the  children  be  numerated 
through  the  town.  Males  unmarried  from  four  years  old  to 
twenty-one,  females  unmarried  from  four  years  old  to  eighteen, 
and  the  whole  of  the  money  raised  this  year  for  the  schools 
be  equally  divided  upon  the  polls."  In  many  cases  the  part 
the  scholar  should  pay  was  left  in  a  very  indeterminate  way, 
or  it  was  a  matter  of  private  agreement  between  the  master 
and  the  parents.  Tuition  receipts  formed  a  considerable  part 
of  the  schoolmaster's  salary.  It  was  a  valuable  asset,  not  re- 
linquished without  protest,  as  is  indicated  by  the  action 
of  Ezekiel  Cheever  at  Charlestown  in  1666.  Among  the 
motions  presented  to  the  meeting  was  one  "  putting  them 
in  mind  of  their  promise  at  his  first  coming  to  town,  viz., 
that  no  other  schoolmaster  should  be  suffered  or  set  up  in 
the  town  so  as  he  could  teach  the  same,  yet  now  Mr.  Mans- 
field is  suffered  to  teach  and  take  away  his  scholars."  This 
evidently  affected  his  income  from  tuition.  Hartford,  in  1650, 
agreed  to  give  Mr.  Samuel  Fitch  fifteen  pounds  by  the  year 
for  every  one  of  the  three  years  that  he  should  teach  "  such 
children  as  shall  be  thought  fit  to  be  sent  to  him,  besides  that 
which  the  parents  of  the  children  pay."  This  system  appealed 
so  strongly  to  the  other  towns  of  the  Connecticut  Colony  that 
it  was  quite  generally  adopted.  In  New  Haven,  in  1663,  in 
dealing  with  Mr.  Pardee  to  become  their  schoolmaster,  "  as 
it  was  scarce  known  in  any  place  to  have  a  free  school  for 
teaching  of  English  and  writing,  it  was  proposed  to  allow 
;^20  out  of  the  town  treasury,  and  the  rest  to  be  paid  by  those 
who  sent  scholars  to  the  school,  as  he  and  they  could  agree." 


THE  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS  20I 

Haverhill,  in  1670,  granted  ten  pounds,  and  "what  children 
do  come  to  him  to  be  taught,  the  selectmen  being  to  provide 
a  convenient  place  to  keep  the  school  in,  shall  pay  to  the 
schoolmaster  according  as  he  and  the  parents  or  masters  of 
such  as  come  to  be  taught  can  agree  for,  provided  he  do  not 
ask  for  a  child  or  person  more  than  is  usually  given  in  other 
towns  by  the  year."  At  Stratford,  Connecticut,  it  was  agreed 
to  pay  the  schoolmaster  thirty-six  pounds,  "  the  town  to  bear 
one  half,  and  the  parents  of  the  children  the  other  half."  At 
Amesbury,  in  17 12,  the  town  clerk  was  engaged  to  teach  a 
school  to  "  teach  to  write  and  cypher  such  as  shall  come  to 
him,  they  paying  as  he  and  they  shall  agree."  Deerfield,  in 
1720,  "granted  the  sum  of  ;j^20  in  money  for  the  year 
ensuing  towards  the  encouragement  of  a  school  in  Deerfield, 
the  scholars  making  up  with  said  sum  that  a  schoolmaster 
may  be  hired  for."  Harwinton,  Connecticut,  after  trying 
other  methods,  finally  reached  this  indeterminate  form  as 
indicated  by  the  following  votes:  In  1742,  five  years  after 
the  town  was  founded,  it  was  voted  "  that  there  be  3  pence 
upon  the  pound  levied  upon  the  Grand  List  in  order  to 
maintain  a  school  in  the  town."  Five  years  later  it  was  voted 
"  that  there  shall  be  p^20  in  money  of  the  old  tenor  levied 
on  polls  and  ratable  estates  in  this  town  in  order  to  main- 
taining of  a  school  amongst  us  in  this  town  in  the  year 
ensuing."  The  next  year  it  was  voted  "  that  there  shall  be 
;^8o  in  money  of  the  old  tenor  levied  on  the  polls  and 
ratable  estates  in  this  town,  in  order  to  cany  on  schooling  in 
this  town  "  ;  but  in  1750,  after  fixing  the  master's  salary  at 
sixty  pounds,  it  was  added,  "  The  one  half  to  be  raised  by  the 
town,  and  the  other  half  to  be  by  the  persons  or  masters  of 
the  children  that  they  send  to  said  school." 

Hadley  had  a  similar  experience.  In  1670  the  salary  was 
made  thirty  pounds,  "a  part  from  the  school  estate  and  the 
rest  from  the  scholars  and  town."  Children  not  attending 
school  were  taxed.  Two  years  later  male  children  from  six  to 


202  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

twelve  were  to  pay  ten  shillings  a  year  if  they  went  and  five 
shillings  if  they  did  not  go.  In  1681  "  Latin  scholars  were 
to  pay  20  shillings  a  year  and  English  scholars,  1 6  shillings. 
Those  from  six  to  twelve  that  did  not  go  were  to  pay  8  shil- 
lings a  year."  In  1697  it  was  decided  that  the  teacher  "  should 
be  paid  wholly  by  the  school  committee  and  the  town  rate." 
Men  without  children  objected  and  in  two  years  it  was  voted 
"  that  one  half  what  the  school  estate  did  not  pay  should  be 
paid  by  the  scholars."  Greenwich,  in  1695,  voted  "that  no 
person  should  be  obliged  to  help  support  the  school  who 
sent  no  children."  The  committee  was  responsible  for  the 
payment  of  the  schoolmaster's  wages.  After  nearly  fifty 
years  of  a  single  Latin  school,  in  1683,  Boston  referred  to 
a  committee  the  question  of  the  establishment  of  additional 
schools.    That  committee  made  two  recommendations  : 

"  1st.  That  two  schools  shall  be  provided  and  agreed  for. 

"  2nd.  That  the  town  shall  allow  ^£2$  per  annum  for  each 
school  for  the  present,  and  that  such  persons  as  send  their 
children  to  school  (that  are  able)  should  pay  something  to 
the  master  for  his  better  encouragement  in  his  work." 

Hampton,  New  Hampshire,  in  1670,  voted  "that  the 
schoolmaster  rate  for  this  year  shall  be  raised  by  estates  of 
the  inhabitants  as  other  town  rates  are  "  ;  but  three  years 
later  only  ten  pounds  "  of  the  teacher's  wages  could  be  paid 
out  of  money  raised  by  taxation  in  the  usual  way  and  the  rest 
was  to  be  assessed  on  children  attending  the  school."  The 
following  vote  in  1672  seems  to  indicate  that  the  salary  of 
the  schoolmaster  of  Stamford,  Connecticut,  was  paid  by  the 
children  whether  they  went  to  the  public  school  or  not :  "By 
vote,  the  town  ertjoin  all  the  children  that  went  to  any  school 
this  last  year,  except  only  such  that  went  only  to  learn  to  knit 
or  sew,  shall  pay  their  proper  fares  to  the  schoolmaster." 
In  1708,  besides  the  forty  shillings  on  the  one  thousand 
pounds,  additional  money  "  shall  be  paid  by  the  scholars  that 
go  to  school."    Amesbury  did  not  make  a  rate  to  pay  the 


THE  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS  203 

schoolmaster  until  1706.  Previous  to  that  time  the  schools 
had  been  maintained  by  a  tax  on  the  children. 

Parents  did  not  find  it  easy  to  pay  these  tuition  rates,  or 
they  were  unwilling  to.  Occasional  records  are  found  like 
these:  In  Guilford,  in  1654,  "that  troublesome  man,  Benj. 
Wright,  was  ordered  to  pay  for  the  schooling  of  his  four 
children,  which  he  had  neglected.  We  learn  that  the  pay 
of  the  teacher,  being  all  to  be  levied  upon  the  scholars,  came 
to  1 3  shillings  a  head,  as  all  the  rest  had  paid ;  although 
scarce  any  of  the  scholars  did  or  could  attend  regularly." 
In  1702  Plymouth  voted  "that  Mr.  Joseph  Bartlett  shall 
hereby  have  power  to  gather  in  the  arrears  of  what  monies 
is  yet  unpaid  relating  to  the  school  in  Mr.  Hale's  term  " ; 
and  in  1706  a  committee  of  two  was  "desired  and  invested 
with  full  power  by  the  town  to  call  those  persons  to  an  account 
that  do  either  neglect  or  refuse  to  pay  what  they  are  obliged  to 
by  town  act,  relating  to  the  school  in  said  town." 

The  "  benefit "  of  strangers  was  sometimes  allowed  the 
schoolmaster  as  an  extra  compensation ;  sometimes  it  was  paid 
into  the  town  treasury  and  went  toward  reducing  the  school 
tax.  Dover,  in  1658,  agreed  "that  ;^20  per  annum  shall  be 
yearly  raised  for  the  maintenance  of  a  schoolmaster  in  the 
town  of  Dover ;  that  is  to  say  for  the  teaching  of  all  the  chil- 
dren within  the  township  of  Dover;  the  said  schoolmaster 
having  the  privilege  of  all  strangers  out  of  the  township 
aforesaid."  Watertown,  in  1653,  "ordered  that  all  scholars 
that  their  parents  live  out  of  town  shall  pay  for  their  school- 
ing 25s.  for  the  year."  Brookline,  in  1747,  allowed  two  men 
to  send  their  children  from  out  of  town  by  "  paying  their  pro- 
portion for  their  polls  according  as  the  selectmen  apportion 
upon  other  children." 

The  records  of  Springfield  for  a  single  year  show  how 
serious  a  matter  the  arrangement  of  rate  and  tuition  was. 
In  1707  it  was  recorded:  "Inasmuch  as  the  law  of  the 
Province  obliges  this  town  to  keep  and  maintain  a  grammar 


204  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

school,  writing  school,  and  reading  school,  and  that  the 
schoolmaster  be  suitably  encouraged  and  paid  by  the  inhabit- 
ants of  said  town  ;  now  for  the  better  support  of  said  school 
and  encouragement  of  learning,  it  is  agreed  and  voted  that 
the  parents  and  masters  of  every  scholar  going  to  said  school 
shall  pay  three  pence  per  week  in  town  pay,  and  for  the 
enabling  the  town  to  recover  such  dues  for  each  scholar,  it  is 
agreed  that  the  schoolmaster  that  shall  be  hired  from  time  to 
time  shall  keep  an  exact  account  of  the  time  of  every  scholar 
coming  to  said  school,  and  leaving  said  school,  and  upon 
demand  of  the  selectmen  such  schoolmaster  shall  deliver  to 
said  selectmen,  under  his  hand,  an  account  of  the  scholars  as 
aforesaid,  which  account  shall  be  obliging  us  to  the  time  of 
the  said  scholar's  attendance,  and  the  selectmen  or  assessors 
from  time  to  time  are  hereby  ordered  and  empowered  to  as- 
sess the  said  sum  or  sums  upon  the  parents  and  masters  of 
said  scholars,  and  to  affix  or  add  the  said  sums  to  their  town 
rates  that  shall  be  granted  from  time  to  time  by  the  town 
for  assessing  and  raising  such  further  sum  and  sums  for 
completing  the  schoolmaster's  full  dues  that  shall  be  due  to 
him,  and  it  is  further  ordered  and  agreed  that  the  selectmen 
consider  who  are  such  children  or  scholars  as  to  be  privileged, 
and  that  said  selectmen  do  exempt  their  parents  and  masters 
from  paying  for  such  children  going  to  school,  in  whole  or  in 
part."  In  spite  of  this  the  town  was  notified  that  the  "  asses- 
sors had  raised  the  school  rate  on  the  polls  and  estates  only, 
without  laying  anything  of  payment  on  the  scholars  that 
come  to  school."  A  town  meeting  was  called  two  weeks  later 
to  see  by  "  what  method  to  raise  the  schoolmaster's  salary ; 
and  the  dues  for  keeping  of  the  school  at  Longmeadow." 
"  It  was  put  to  vote  whether  the  schoolmaster's  dues  should 
be  raised  on  the  town's  polls  and  estates  without  laying  any- 
thing on  the  scholars,  and  the  vote  was  for  the  negative ;  it 
being  declared  that,  the  scholars  paying  three  pence  per  week, 
the  dues  by  reason  of  that  way  would  be  jCi6  i6  shillings 


THE  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS  205 

and  6  pence,  and  then  it  was  put  to  vote  that  whether  the 
said  ^16-16-6  should  be  laid  on  the  scholars  and  the  vote 
for  the  affirmative  passed.  Then  it  was  declared  that  the 
charge  for  schooling,  besides  the  proportion  for  scholars  and 
the  rents  of  the  school  lands,  would  be  ^10-18-6,  and  then 
it  was  put  to  vote  whether  to  raise  said  sum  on  the  town, 
that  is  the  town's  polls  and  estates,  and  the  vote  was  for 
the  affirmative," 

And  it  was  also  voted  "  that  the  selectmen  receive  the 
schoolmaster's  account  of  the  scholars  coming  to  the  school, 
and  that  they  demand  of  their  parents  and  masters  the  pay- 
ment due  upon  the  account  of  said  scholars  coming  to  school," 
Two  months  after  this  it  was  voted :  "Whereas  there  hath  been 
difficulty  and  contradiction  about  paying  the  town's  present 
schoolmaster  his  dues  for  the  year  past,  whether  to  raise  it 
on  polls  and  estates  only  or  on  the  scholars  also,  according 
to  former  custom  and  practice,  it  was  agreed  and  voted  that 
the  selectmen  lay  the  whole  matter  before  the  General  Quarter 
Sessions  this  instant  month  of  May,  and  the  town  to  rest  in 
the  determination  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  that  come  from 
the  other  towns  of  the  county,  excluding  the  Justices  of  the 
Peace  dwelling  in  Springfield,  and  the  said  Justices  of  the 
Peace  at  said  sessions  did  determine  the  said  schoolmaster's 
dues  be  paid  as  the  other  town  charges  are  paid." 

In  December  "  it  was  voted  to  allow  the  schoolmaster  pay 
for  three  quarters  of  a  year,  and  what  the  town's  lands  fall 
short  of  satisfying  together  with  the  scholars'  pay,  that  the 
same  be  assessed  on  the  inhabitants."  Finally,  in  17 10,  there 
is  indication  that  the  custom  of  taxing  the  pupils  was  aban- 
doned for  a  general  tax,  as  is  shown  in  the  following  record  : 
"  It  was  voted  that  the  assessors  do  raise  upon  the  inhabitants 
in  the  town's  tax  for  to  pay  our  present  schoolmaster,  the 
sum  of  ;!^40." 

Votes  of  other  towns  point  in  the  same  direction,  but 
the  evidence  is  not  conclusive  that  direct  taxation  for  school 


2o6  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

support  was  an  established  custom  even  in  these  towns.  New 
London,  in  1698,  "  voted  that  the  town  grant  one  half  penny 
in  money  upon  the  lists  of  estates,  to  be  raised  for  the  use  of 
the  free  school."  At  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  in  173 1, 
the  proprietors  voted  "that  ^10  be  levied  on  the  grantees 
for  to  be  laid  out  for  the  instructing  of  the  children  in  read- 
ing." Woodstock,  Vermont,  in  1786,  voted  "to  raise  a  tax 
of  two  pence  on  the  pound,  on  the  list  of  the  ensuing  year, 
to  be  paid  in  wheat  at  5  shillings  per  bushel,  rye  at  4s.  per 
bushel,  and  corn  at  3s.  per  bushel,  for  the  use  of  the  school- 
ing." The  Reverend  Mr.  Woodbridge,  speaking  of  Hartford 
in  1770,  said  that  common  schools  were  open  to  every  child 
and  the  expense  of  instruction  was  paid  "by  the  public, 
partly  by  the  school  fund  which  was  then  small,  and  partly 
by  town  taxes." 

Boston  soon  grew  out  of  the  idea  of  tuition  rates  upon  the 
children,  land  rentals,  and  subscriptions,  and  supported  her 
schools  by  taxation.  In  a  report  of  a  committee  on  the  ex- 
penses of  the  town  and  the  ways  of  reducing  the  same,  we  find 
this  paragraph  :  "  That  the  charge  of  supporting  the  several 
public  schools  amounted  the  last  year  to  more  than  one  third 
part  of  the  whole  sum  drawn  for  by  the  selectmen  ;  but 
although  this  charge  is  very  considerable  and  the  number  of 
schools  is  greater  than  the  law  requires,  yet  as  the  education 
of  children  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  community, 
the  committee  cannot  be  of  opinion  that  any  saving  can  be 
made  to  advantage  on  that  head,  except  the  town  should  think 
it  expedient  to  come  into  methods  to  oblige  such  of  the  in- 
habitants who  send  their  children  to  the  public  schools  and 
are  able  to  pay  for  their  education  themselves,  to  loose  the 
town  of  that  charge  by  assessing  some  reasonable  sum  upon 
themselves  for  that  purpose."  But  the  voters  refused  to  accept 
the  latter  suggestion  and  continued  to  assess  themselves  for 
school  purposes  to  the  extent  of  one  third  of  the  public  taxes. 
This  was  over  one  hundred  years  after  the  founding  of  the 


THE  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS  207 

first  school.  A  little  later  several  inhabitants  presented  a 
petition,  "  praying  the  town  would  consider  the  great  expense 
occasioned  by  the  public  schools  and  determine  whether  one 
grammar  school  and  two  writing  schools  are  not  sufficient  for 
the  education  of  the  children  of  the  town."  This  was  read 
and  immediately  voted  down. 

Reserving  land  grants  and  endowments  for  later  considera- 
tion, a  few  simple  cases  may  be  mentioned  here,  to  show  the 
tendency  to  support  schools  without  adding  to  taxes  already 
burdensome  in  other  ways.  In  1655  the  rent  of  Long  and 
Spectacle  islands  was  given  to  the  Boston  schools.  A  few 
years  later  two  acres  of  land  were  let,  "  paying  a  bushel  of 
barley  malt  yearly  to  the  school  use."  In  1 700  Salem  received 
this  income:  "  Ryall  side,  jQ22-$-6,  Baker's  island,  jQt,, 
Misery  island,  £},,  Beverly  ferry,  jQ6,  Marblehead  ferry, 
18  shillings,  interest  on  legacies,  jQ6."  At  a  proprietors' 
meeting  in  Cambridge,  in  1693,  it  was  recorded  :  "  There 
being  then  a  motion  made  that  there  might  be  a  sale  of  some 
remnants  of  common  land  for  the  payment  of  some  debts 
due  unto  Mr.  John  Hasting  and  Mr.  John  Hancock  for  their 
keeping  the  school  in  the  town,  the  proprietors  did  approve 
of  said  motion  and  voted  the  sale  should  be  made  accordingly." 
New  Haven,  in  1729,  referring  to  the  schoolmaster,  voted, 
"And  for  his  reward  he  is  to  have  the  money  raised  on  the 
scholars'  heads,  and  the  rents  of  the  money  and  the  land  and 
meadow  of  this  present  year."  In  1645  the  people  of  Rox- 
bury  "  therefore  unanimously  have  consented  and  agreed  to 
erect  a  free  school  in  the  said  town  of  Roxbury  and  to  allow 
;;^20  per  annum  to  the  schoolmaster,  to  be  raised  out  of  the 
messuages  and  part  of  the  lands  of  the  several  donors  [in- 
habitants of  the  town]  in  several  proportions,  as  hereafter 
followeth  under  their  hands." 

In  1674  Hartford  voted  "  that  for  the  encouragement  of 
Mr.  Watson  to  teach  a  school  in  Hartford,  and  for  the  en- 
couragement of  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  to  send  their 


2o8  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

children  to  school,  the  town  do  engage  so  long  as  they  shall 
continue  the  said  Mr.  Watson  in  that  work,  that  the  children 
of  this  town  shall  go  free  of  charge  to  the  school,  and  the 
town  will  yearly  lend  their  help  towards  Mr.  Watson's  main- 
tenance, to  make  it  up  £,60,  always  provided  their  part  shall 
not  be  above  jQ^o  2i  year,  to  be  levied  upon  the  inhabitants 
as  other  rents  are  by  proportion."  The  rest  probably  came 
from  land  rentals  and  county  rates. 

At  Dedham,  in  1680,  "  Dr.  William  Avery  made  dona- 
tion to  the  town  of  jQ6o  for  the  support  of  a  Latin  school." 
In  1695  "  300  acres  of  land  were  granted  by  the  Proprietors 
for  the  support  of  schools  in  the  town,  to  be  managed  by 
trustees  and  called  the  School  Farm."  This  land  was  ordered 
sold  in  1 690,  the  "  money  received  for  it  to  be  improved  for 
the  benefit  of  a  school  in  Dedham."  In  1722  the  trustees  of 
the  school  money  "are  instructed  to  let  it  out  at  six  per  cent, 
interest."  In  18 12  the  Honorable  Samuel  Dexter  made  a 
donation  and  suggested  "  that  certain  sums  formerly  appro- 
priated for  the  same  purpose,  both  principal  and  interest  of 
which  were  expended  during  the  Revolution  in  hiring  soldiers, 
shall  be  replaced  by  the  town."  Lovell's  Island  was  granted 
to  Charlestown.  This  was  rented  and  the  income  was  regu- 
larly applied  for  the  support  of  the  schools.  In  1647  it  was 
"agreed  that  a  rate  of  ^^15  should  be  gathered  of  the  town 
towards  the  school  for  this  year,  and  the  £$  that  Major 
Sedgwick  is  to  pay  this  year  [for  the  island]  for  the  school, 
also  the  town's  part  of  Mystic  weir."  In  1650  "at  a  meet- 
ing of  the  general  townsmen,  it  was  agreed  that  the  town 
would  allow  unto  a  schoolmaster,  to  be  treated  with  by  the 
officers,  by  a  rate  made  to  that  end,  to  make  up  the  rent 
of  Lovell's  island,  ;^20  a  year  besides  the  scholars'  pay." 
In  165 1  the  schoolmaster,  Mr.  Stowe,  was  to  have  "what  is 
due  the  town  for  the  fish  weir,  and  the  £$  what  the  Major 
pays  for  Pettrick's  island,  also  he  is  to  require  and  take  of 
such  persons  as  send  their  children  now  and  then  and  not 


THE  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS  209 

constantly,  by  the  week  as  he  and  they  can  agree."  In  1779 
the  town  voted  "  that  the  committee  on  schools  have  liberty 
to  let  the  training  field  and  apply  the  rent  to  the  use  of  the 
school  within  the  Neck."  Guilford,  Connecticut,  in  1648, 
laid  "  a  rate  of  2  pence  per  acre  and  2  pence  per  caput "  for 
various  town  expenses,  among  them  the  school. 

Some  curious  forms  of  income  were  credited  to  the  school 
account,  though  perhaps  not  more  curious  than  the  almost 
universal  New  England  dog  tax  may  appear  some  genera- 
tions hence.  At  Bristol,  "in  17 18  and  for  many  years  after- 
wards, a  license  fee  varying  from  21  shillings  to  £,4  was 
charged  upon  all  houses  of  entertainment  and  the  money 
obtained  was  devoted  to  the  support  of  the  schools."  In  1 8 1 8 
a  vote  was  passed  '"  that  all  money  which  should  come  to  the 
town  from  the  property  of  strangers  dying  within  its  limits 
should  be  devoted  to  the  support  of  the  free  schools."  And 
it  was  also  voted  "  that  the  Town  Council  be  instructed  to  ex- 
act a  reasonable  sum  from  all  persons  who  may  dance  the 
slack  rope  or  wire  or  perform  any  feats  of  activity,  or  exhibit 
any  animal  or  wax  figures  or  other  show  in  this  town,  who 
exact  pay  from  their  spectators,  and  to  collect  double  the  sum 
exacted  in  case  any  person  shall  presume  to  exhibit  without 
their  permission,  and  that  the  money  arising  under  this  act 
be  appropriated  to  the  support  of  free  schools."  In  Douglass 
the  school  lands  brought  sufficient  income  to  pay  all  expenses 
except  three  pounds  annually.  Notes  in  payment  for  pews  in 
the  meetinghouse  also  were  applied  to  school  expenses.  "  The 
money  raised  from  the  sale  of  pews  in  the  meetinghouse  had 
been  placed  in  a  bank  with  the  intention  of  using  it  to  keep 
the  building  in  repair,  but  when  it  was  proposed  to  use  a  por- 
tion of  it  to  pay  the  expense  of  new  shingles  and  clapboards 
the  town  refused  to  consent  and  appropriated  the  whole 
amount,  something  over  ;^85,  for  the  support  of  schools." 
When  Reading  sold  the  old  meetinghouse  in  1692,  the  money 
was  ordered  "  paid  over  to  Mr.  Brown  in  part  compensation 


2IO  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

for  the  school."  Boston,  in  i/ii,  voted  "that  the  town's 
wharf,  dock  and  flats  at  the  North  Battery  be  appropriated 
towards  the  support  of  the  free  grammar  school  at  the  north 
end  of  Boston."  In  1655  it  was  ordered  "that  Edward 
Greenleaf  shall  have  liberty  to  set  a  house  of  18  feet  deep 
and  1 2  feet  to  the  front  from  the  end  of  Mr.  Batt's  tan-house, 
paying  2  shillings  6  pence  per  annum  to  the  school  use  as 
long  as  he  improves  it  for  a  dyeing  house."  Weymouth,  in 
1 8 16,  appropriated  for  school  use  the  "  alewive  money;"  that 
is,  -fees  received  for  permits  to  catch  herring.  At  Plymouth, 
in  1705,  swine  found  at  large  after  October  Were  forfeited, 
"  the  one  half  towards  the  maintenance  of  the  school  kept  in 
said  town."  "  In  1802  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  herrings 
in  the  town  brook  were  applied  to  the  same  object,  and  con- 
tinued to  be  so  applied  until  the  fishing  right  was  abandoned 
to  the  proprietors  of  the  iron  works  in  1821."  Newport  had 
a  lottery  from  which  a  wharf  and  hotel  were  to  be  built,  the 
proceeds  of  which  were  to  support  a  public  school.  The  result 
is  not  known.  At  Springfield,  in  1708,  it  was  voted  "that 
such  persons  as  shall  be  chosen  by  the  town  to  execute  the 
law  respecting  swine  and  shall  be  convicted  of  the  neglect 
thereof,  shall  be  subject  to  the  penalty  of  five  shillings,  upon 
conviction,  the  one  half  thereof  to  the  informer,  the  other 
half  to  the  town's  school."  This  was  approved  by  the  court. 
In  the  gathering  of  turpentine  a  tax  was  placed  on  new 
trees,  "  That  there  be  paid  to  the  town  treasurer  for  the  use 
of  the  school,  one  shilling  in  town  pay  for  one  hundred  trees  " ; 
and  for  old  trees,  "  that  those  who  work  any  of  their  old  trees 
shall  pay  to  the  town  treasury,  for  the  use  of  the  school,  six 
shillings  in  town  pay  for  one  thousand  of  said  trees."  Con- 
necticut, in  1680,  placed  a  duty  "on  imported  wines  to  be 
used  as  a  school  fund."  In  1766  all  money  collected  or  due 
"  for  excise  on  liquors,  tea  &c.  shall  be  paid  to  the  several 
committees  in  each  town  where  they  are  recovered  .  .  .  and 
shall  by  said  committee  be  let  out  and  the  interest  thereof 


THE  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS  211 

improved  for  the  support  of  the  respective  schools  aforesaid 
forever,  and  for  no  other  use."  All  moneys  that  had  been 
paid  in  by  any  town,  with  interest  at  five  per  cent,  were  ordered 
paid  back  to  the  towns  for  the  use  of  the  schools.  At  a  sheep 
meeting  held  in  Ridgefield,  in  1 742,  it  was  voted  by  a  majority 
"  that  the  money  coming  for  the  hire  of  the  sheep  the  last 
year  shall  be  given  as  a  bounty  to  help  maintain  the  town 
school  forever,  and  when  the  money  is  gathered  it  shall  be 
delivered  to  the  committee  that  is  appointed  to  take  care  of 
the  bounty  money  given  by  the  government  to  support  the 
schools,  and  ordered  by  the  above  said  vote  to  let  out  the  said 
money  as  the  money  is  that  comes  from  the  government,  and . 
to  improve  the  use  thereof  to  pay  it  towards  the  maintenance 
of  said  town  school  forever." 

The  meaning  of  this  vote  is  found  in  this  Norwich  state- 
ment. The  town  owned  some  two  thousand  sheep,  "  and 
regularly  twice  in  the  week  they  were  let  to  the  highest  bidder 
to  lay  in  his  plow  land  during  the  night  season."  It  is  re- 
corded that  the  schools  of  this  town  were  maintained  "(i)  in 
part  by  the  produce  of  lands  in  Litchfield  County  granted 
by  the  State  and  appropriated  to  the  schools ;  (2)  by  the 
produce  of  an  excise  duty  laid  on  rum  and  tea,  but  the  act 
proving  unpopular  was  never  carried  into  general  execution, 
the  money  paid  in  by  this  town  was  returned  and  appropriated 
for  the  benefit  of  schools  ;  (3)  by  the  40s.  on  the  thousands 
as  it  is  called ;  (4)  by  the  produce  of  the  sales  of  the  west- 
ern lands ;  and  (5)  lastly,  in  case  of  deficiency,  by  a  tax  on 
the  scholars." 

At  Plymouth,  in  1705,  certain  inhabitants  bound  them- 
selves for  several  years  to  pay  twenty  pounds  for  the  support 
of  the  schools.  The  conditions  were  that  the  schoolmaster 
should  be  settled  within  forty  rods  of  the  old  meetinghouse, 
and  that  the  town  should  pay  twenty  pounds.  The  town  made 
these  stipulations :  the  subscribers'  children  should  go  free ; 
all  others  within  one  mile  of  the  school  should  pay  fourpence 


212  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

> 
per  week  for  Latin,  writing,  or  cyphering,  and  twopence  per 
week  for  reading ;  those  over  one  mile  and  under  two  miles 
should  pay  one  half  these  rates  ;  all  over  two  miles  should  go 
free.  All  fines  and  this  tuition  money  were  to  go  toward  the 
town's  twenty  pounds.  In  171 1  and  for  many  years  after,  the 
interest  of  the  "  mile  and  a  half  "  money  was  appropriated 
for  the  schools.  This  was  a  tract  of  land  one  and  one  half 
miles  square,  made  common  land  in  1702,  and  sold  in  lots ; 
people  who  bought  it  gave  bonds  for  payment. 

There  was  given  at  Dedham,  in  1 679,  a  list  of  thirty  persons 
"as  are  to  pay  to  the  school  for  their  children  unto  Mr.  Samuel 
Mann  the  last  time  he  kept  and  also  for  Thomas  Batteley 
that  is  now  in  that  service  of  keeping  the  school."  The 
amounts  varied  from  two  shillings  to  twelve  shillings  nine- 
pence.  An  old  Taunton  account  book  (168  3- 1687)  shows 
that  the  schoolmaster  was  paid  by  the  people ;  there  were 
one  hundred  fifty-six  of  them,  and  the  total  amount  to  be  paid 
was  twenty-one  pounds  seven  shillings  seven  pence.  "  This 
rate  made  the  2  2d  day  of  December,  1685,  by  us  whose 
names  are  underwritten,  for  the  payment  of  the  schoolmaster, 
and  is  to  be  paid  according  to  town  order." 

At  best  the  support  of  the  schools  was  meager.  Even 
though  Boston  was  spending  one  third  of  all  town  expenses 
for  the  schools,  and  even  though  at  one  time  out  of  two  hun- 
dred pounds  Springfield  spent  one  hundred  forty-seven  pounds 
on  schools,  there  was  only  a  small  income  available  for  edu- 
cation. Appropriations  in  any  form  for  school  support  were 
not  made  readily,  and  under  special  stringency  were  not  made 
at  all.  Easton,  settled  in  1725,  voted  in  1736  "  that  the  town 
should  be  provided  with  a  schoolmaster,"  but  made  no  appro- 
priation ;  in  1 740  they  again  voted  to  have  a  schoolmaster,  and 
appropriated  forty  pounds  '"  to  support  and  uphold  a  school." 
Apparently  this  was  for  two  years,  for  no  other  vote  was 
taken  until  1742,  when  it  was  voted  "  not  to  raise  any  money 
to  support  the  school." 


THE  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS  213 

Leicester  had  a  school  in  1732  for  three  months  and  raised 
for  its  support  ten  pounds  ten  shillings,  about  eight  dollars 
and  seventy-five  cents  lawful  money.  Salisbury,  in  1772, 
raised  twelve  dollars  for  school  purposes.  Francestown  raised 
its  first  school  money  in  1781  ;  voted  "to  raise  twenty-five 
Spanish  milled  dollars  to  support  said  school."  Newport, 
New  Hampshire,  in  1774,  voted  "that  there  shall  be  £4 
lawful  money  paid  out  of  the  town  treasury  towards  the  sup- 
port of  a  school  the  ensuing  summer,  to  be  paid  in  grain  at 
the  market  price."  The  next  year  it  was  voted  "to  pay  jCs 
lawful  money  worth  of  grain  to  support  a  school ;  one  half  is 
to  support  a  school  in  the  summer,  and  the  other  half  in  the 
winter;  wheat  at  5s.  per  bushel,  and  rye  at  3s.  gd.  per  bushel." 
In  1773  Cohasset  appropriated  thirty-five  pounds  for  schools 
and  eighty-eight  pounds  for  the  minister.  In  1796  it  con- 
tributed less  than  fifty  cents  per  pupil. 

Such  items  show  that  financial  conditions  were  not  pros- 
perous, though  in  many  cases  besides  these  appropriations 
there  was  an  income  from  land  grants  and  other  donations. 


VIII 

LAND  GRANTS  AND  DONATIONS 

At  the  very  beginning  of  the  public-school  movement 
there  was  inaugurated  the  giving  of  public  lands  in  per- 
petuity, and  the  income  from  such  lands  was  devoted  to  the 
schools.  At  first  these  lands  were  granted  by  the  colonies  as 
a  whole  ;  afterwards  new  towns  at  their  settlements  set  apart 
certain  portions  as  "'  ministerial  and  school  lots."  School- 
master lots  were  also  awarded  as  "  encouragement "  for  men 
to  take  up  the  work.  When  Pormont  was  invited  to  become 
the  Boston  master,  he-  was  given  thirty  acres  of  land  at 
Muddy  River,  now  Brookline,  and  a  similar  award  was  later 
given  to  his  successor,  Daniel  Maude.  Some  of  the  earlier 
and  more  extensive  grants  are  well  known,  but  are  restated 
here  to  round  out  the  discussion.  It  is  well  known  that  the 
Dorchester  school  was  founded  on  a  land  grant,  but  it  is  not 
generally  known  how  far-reaching  this  system  was. 

Let  me  repeat  the  history  of  the  grant  to  the  school  at 
Dorchester.  An  island  in  Boston  harbor  was  settled  by 
David  Thompson  in  1626.  When  Dorchester  was  settled 
this  island  had  been  vacated,  and  in  1635,  by  act  of  the 
General  Court,  it  was  given  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  town. 
This  island  was  divided  into  lots  and  assigned  to  some 
or  all  o{  the  freemen,  who  became  "  proprietors."  When 
it  was  decided  to  establish  a  school,  the  income  from  this 
island  was  given  to  its  support  in  the  following  vote : 
"  There  shall  be  a  rent  of  ;;^20  yearly  forever  imposed  upon 
Thompson's  Island,  to  be  paid  by  every  person  that  hath 
property  in  the  said  island,  according  to  the  proportion  that 
any  such  person  shall  from  time  to  time  enjoy  and  possess 

214 


LAND  GRANTS  AND  DONATIONS      215 

there,  and  this  towards  the  maintenance  of  a  school  in  Dor- 
chester ;  this  rent  of  ^1^20  yearly  to  be  paid  to  such  a  school- 
master as  shall  undertake  to  teach  English,  Latin  and  other 
tongues,  ana  also  write  ;  said  schoolmaster  to  be  chosen  from 
time  to  time  by  the  freemen.  .  .  .  For  the  levying  this  £,20 
yearly  from  the  particular  persons  who  ought  to  pay  it  accord- 
ing to  this  order,  it  is  further  ordered  that  some  man  shall 
be  appointed  by  the  seven  men  for  the  time  being  to  receive 
this,  and  on  refusal,  to  levy  it  by  distress,  and  not  finding 
distress,  such  person  as  so  refuseth  payment  shall  forfeit  the 
land  he  hath  in  propriety  in  said  island."  Complications 
arose  in  1642,  and  the  land  was  conveyed  directly  to  the 
town.  "'  Whereas  the  inhabitants  of  Dorchester  have  formerly 
ordered,  consented  and  agreed  that  a  rate  of  ;;^20  per  annum 
shall  issue  and  be  paid  by  the  said  inhabitants  and  their  heirs 
from  and  out  of  a  certain  portion  of  land  in  Dorchester  called 
Thompson's  Island,  for  and  towards  the  maintenance  of  a 
school  in  Dorchester  aforesaid,  and  that  upon  experience  it 
is  found  to  be  a  matter  of  great  labor  and  difficulty  to  collect 
the  said  rent  from  so  many  several  persons  as  ought  to  pay 
the  same  according  to  their  several  proportions,  the  persons 
that  have  title  in  the  land  in  the  said  island  and  who  there- 
fore ought  to  pay  the  said  rent  being  no  less  in  number  than 
six  score  or  thereabouts,  and  inasmuch  as  the  said  rent  of 
;^20  when  it  is  duly  collected  and  paid  is  not  of  itself  suffi- 
cient maintenance  for  a  school  without  some  addition  there- 
unto for  the  augmenting  therefore  of  the  said  rent,  and  to 
the  intent  that  the  same  may  henceforth  be  more  readily  col- 
lected and  paid,  it  is  hereby  ordered  and  all  the  present  in- 
habitants of  Dorchester  aforesaid,  whose  names  are  hereunto 
subscribed,  do  for  themselves  and  their  heirs  hereby  cove- 
nant, consent  and  agree,  that  from  henceforth  the  said  island 
and  all  the  benefits  and  profits  thereof  and  all  their  right  and 
interest  in  the  same  shall  be  wholly  and  forever  bequeathed 
and  given  away  from  themselves  and  their  heirs  unto  the 


2l6  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

town  of  Dorchester  aforesaid,  for  and  towards  the  mainte- 
nance of  a  free  school  in  Dorchester  aforesaid,  for  the  in- 
structing and  teaching  of  children  and  youth  in  good  literature 
and  learning.  And  to  the  intent  that  the  better  maintenance 
for  a  free  school  as  is  hereby  intended  may  arise  from  and 
out  of  the  said  land,  it  is  therefore  the  mind  of  the  present 
donors  that  the  said  island  shall  from  time  to  time  be  let, 
assigned  and  set  over  by  the  inhabitants  of  Dorchester  for 
the  time  being  or  their  agents,  for  such  yearly  rent  or  rents 
as  shall  in  common  estimation  amount  to  the  full  value  of 
the  said  island."  Tenants  were  obliged  to  give  security  for 
the  rent,  and  their  number  was  limited.  They  were  not  to  be 
"  above  ten  in  number  at  once." 

A  few  years  later  Thompson's  heirs  claimed  the  island, 
and  their  claim  was  allowed.  The  town  then  petitioned  the 
General  Court  for  a  new  grant,  and  in  1648  received  this 
reply  :  "In  answer  to  the  petition  of  the  inhabitants  of  Dor- 
chester for  some  island  for  and  towards  the  maintenance 
of  a  free  school  amongst  them  and  in  lieu  of  Thompson's 
Island  which  is  now  taken  from  them,  it  was  agreed  upon 
by  the  Court  that  when  the  town  should  present  that  which 
was  fit  to  be  given,  it  should  be  conferred  upon  them."  It 
was  not  until  1659  that  further  action  was  taken,  when  it  was 
voted  by  the  Court,  "  The  deputies  think  meet  to  grant  this 
petition,  viz.,  a  thousand  acres  of  land  for  the  end  mentioned 
in  this  petition,  where  they  can  find  it  according  to  law." 
Two  men  were  empowered  "  to  search  and  stake  out  a  farm 
of  one  thousand  acres  of  land  granted  unto  the  town  of  Dor- 
chester for  the  use  of  a  school  by  the  order  of  the  General 
Court."  This  grant  was  not  finally  located  until  1717,  when 
it  was  set  apart  in  Worcester  County.  A  committee  which 
examined  it  later  reported  "  upon  a  careful  review  thereof, 
the  north  side  to  be  good  land,  but  the  south  side  to  be 
uneven  and  mean  land."  It  was  finally  sold  at  public 
auction  for  four  hundred  pounds. 


LAND  GRANTS  AND  DONATIONS  217 

It  was  a  very  common  procedure  for  towns  to  apply  to  the 
General  Court  for  an  assignment  of  land  to  aid  them  in  their 
school  support.  Groton,  in  1734,  furnished  a  good  illustra- 
tion of  a  petition  for  land  :  "  The  town  taking  into  consider- 
ation the  obligations  they  are  under  by  law  of  the  Province, 
to  be  continually  provided  with  a  grammar  school,  and  their 
poverty  and  inability  to  the  same,  voted  that  Benjamin  Pres- 
cott,  Esq.,  representative  in  this  town,  be  desired  and  fully 
empowered  in  behalf  of  the  town  to  prefer  a  petition  to  the 
Great  and  General  Court  for  a  tract  of  land,  the  profits  and 
produce  of  which  to  be  applied  and  approved  for  or  towards 
the  support  of  a  grammar  school  in  this  town,  and  to  use 
his  best  endeavors  that  the  same  be  effected."  In  1735 
Braintree  petitioned  the  General  Court,  and  among  other 
things  pleaded,  "'  And  likewise  grant  us  something  gratis  for 
our  having  kept  a  free  Latin  school  for  about  ninety  years." 
Milton,  in  1670,  petitioned  the  "  fathers  and  brethren  "  of  Dor- 
chester for  a  tract  of  the  common  land  lying  in  Stoughton, 
to  help  in  the  support  of  their  schools.  In  1706  one  hundred 
fifty  acres  of  unproductive  land  were  granted,  and  they  were 
sold  in  1782. 

When  the  Connecticut  colonies  established  the  four 
county  grammar  schools,  six  hundred  acres  of  land  were 
set  apart  for  each  school,  as  this  record  of  the  Court  of  Elec- 
tion in  1672  shows  :  "  This  Court  granted  to  the  county  towns 
of  Fairfield  and  New  Lxjndon  the  sum  of  six  hundred  acres 
of  land  apiece,  to  each  of  those  county  towns,  to  be  taken 
up  where  it  may  not  prejudice  any  former  grant,  which  said 
land  shall  be  and  belong  to  the  said  county  towns  forever, 
to  be  improved  in  the  best  manner  that  may  be  for  the 
benefit  of  a  grammar  school  in  the  said  county  towns,  and 
to  no  other  use  or  end  whatsoever."  New  Haven  and  Hart- 
ford also  received  similar  grants. 

The  islands  from  which  Boston  and  Charlestown  derived 
school  incomes  were  given  them  by  the  Court.    When  the 


2l8  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

academy  at  Marblehead  was  incorporated,  in  1 792,  the  state 
granted  a  "  township  of  land  six  miles  square,  lying  between 
the  rivers  of  Kennebec  and  Penobscot,"  for  its  support.  It 
was  afterwards  sold  to  Samuel  Sewall  for  fifteen  hundred 
pounds.  In  1804  the  legislature  granted  the  Sandwich 
school  one  half  township  of  six  square  miles  of  unappro- 
priated lands  in  the  District  of  Maine,  "  for  the  use  of  said 
academy  on  condition  that  1^3000  be  actually  raised  and 
secured  "  from  other  sources  for  an  endowment.  At  Dux- 
bury,  in  1742,  two  men  were  chosen  agents  "to  go  down 
to  the  Eastward "  to  see  about  the  land  granted  by  the 
General  Court  toward  supporting  a  grammar  school.  Later 
it  was  voted  to  sell  this  land  for  seven  hundred  fifty  pounds 
old  tenor. 

But  the  greater  part  of  the  land  came  from  town  assign- 
ments. Towns  set  apart  certain  portions  of  their  land  for 
the  minister  and  the  school.  In  1653  Springfield  appropri- 
ated "'  a  tract  of  land  on  Chicopee  plain  to  support  a  school- 
master." Sometime  later,  inasmuch  as  some  of  the  land  had 
been  sold,  so  that  only  thirty  acres  remained,  it  was  voted, 
"  The  major  part  of  the  town  for  several  reasons  do  resolve 
not  to  dispose  of  the  said  thirty  acres  of  land  to  any  par- 
ticular person  or  persons,  as  their  property,  but  do  hereby 
order  that  the  aforesaid  thirty  acres  of  land  at  the  lower 
end  of  Chicopee  plain  over  the  great  river  shall  be  reserved 
in  the  town's  hands  as  the  town's  land  for  the  town's  use, 
either  for  the  helping  to  maintain  a  schoolmaster,  or  ruling 
elder,  or  to  help  bear  any  other  town  charges  according  as 
it  shall  hereafter  be  concluded  on.  .  .  .  And  further  it  is 
ordered  that  the  select  townsmen  shall  have  liberty  to  let  out 
the  said  land  for  a  year  or  years  to  bring  in  some  yearly 
rental  to  the  town,  if  they  find  any  to  take  it." 

In  1695  it  was  voted  "  that  the  ancient  appropriation  of 
Chicopee  land  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  be  to  the  main- 
tenance of  a  school  in  the  town  of  Springfield,  also  that 


LAND  GRANTS  AND  DONATIONS      219 

the  six  acres  of  meadow,  be  it  more  or  less,  on  the  east  side 
of  the  river  ...  be  appropriated  to  the  same  use,  and  is  now 
granted  unto  that  use,  viz.,  towards  the  maintenance  of  a 
school  in  the  town  of  Springfield  forever." 

In  165 1  Ipswich  gave  all  the  "neck  beyond  Chebacco 
river  and  the  rest  of  the  ground  up  to  the  Gloucester  line  " 
to  the  grammar  school.  This  land  was  leased  "for  jC^4  a 
year,  that  is,  £4  in  butter  and  cheese,  ;;i^5  in  pork  and  beef, 
;^5  in  corn,  at  the  current  price."  At  Plymouth,  in  1672, 
"the  town  did  agree  and  unanimously  vote  and  conclude 
that  their  land  at  Sepecan,  Agawam  and  places  adjacent,  the 
profits  and  benefits  thereof  shall  be  improved  and  employed 
for  and  towards  the  maintenance  of  the  free  school  now  be- 
gun and  erected  at  Plymouth  ;  and  the  profits  and  benefits 
thereof  shall  no  way  be  estranged  from  the  said  use ;  so  long 
as  their  school  shall  be  occupied  to  use  it  for  that  end  and 
in  that  behalf."  A  committee  of  two  and  the  selectmen  were 
delegated  to  look  after  it.  In  1674  the  committee  was  urged 
"  to  do  their  utmost  to  improve  the  said  lands  for  the  attain- 
ing of  the  said  ends  propounded,  namely,  that  their  children 
be  perfected  in  reading  when  they  are  entered  in  the  Bible  ; 
and  also  that  they  be  taught  to  write  and  cypher,  besides  that 
which  the  county  expects  from  the  said  school."  In  1701 
the  town  voted  "  that  the  interest  of  money  arising  from  the 
sale  of  lands  should  constitute  an  inalienable  and  perpetual 
fund."  In  1800  the  town  voted  "to  apply  the  proceeds  of 
the  sale  of  Indian  lands  to  the  support  of  schools,"  but 
there  is  no  record  to  show  how  much  this  amounted  to. 

In  1 701,  at  Taunton,  "the  proprietors  ordered  that  100 
acres  of  land  shall  be  laid  out  on  both  sides  of  Rehoboth  road 
at  the  head  of  the  meadow  called  Grossman's  meadow,  and 
said  land  to  be  laid  out  soon  as  may  be  and  to  be  improved 
and  the  benefits  thereof  to  be  used  perpetually  for  and 
towards  the  maintaining  of  a  free  school  in  Taunton,  and 
never  to  be  alienated  to  any  other  use." 


220  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Worcester  proprietors,  before 
any  settlement  had  been  begun,  it  was  agreed  that  a  lot  of 
land  should  be  "  appropriated  for  the  maintenance  of  a  school 
and  schoolmaster,  to  remain  for  that  use  forever."  Forty 
acres  were  set  apart  for  this  purpose.  In  1740  a  committee 
was  appointed  "  to  lease  out  the  school  lands  and  meadow 
the  year  ensuing  for  the  most  they  will  fetch."  In  1786  it 
was  voted  "  to  sell  the  ministerial  and  school  lands  .  .  .  and 
that  they  be  sold  at  public  vendue."  In  1792  they  petitioned 
the  General  Court  for  permission  to  sell  the  ministerial  and 
school  lands.  This  was  granted,  "  provided  that  the  money 
which  has  arisen  and  shall  arise  from  the  sale  or  sales  of  said 
land,  shall  be  put  at  interest  on  good  security,  and  the  annual 
interest  arising  on  the  amount  of  such  sale  or  sales  shall  be 
applied  for  the  support  of  the  ministry  and  schools  in  said 
town,  agreeably  to  the  original  design  for  which  the  said  lands 
were  reserved." 

In  1 67 1  Northampton  voted  to  set  apart  "a  parcel  of 
land  containing  80  or  100  acres,  if  it  can  be  found,  for  some 
public  use  as  for  encouragement  of  a  school  or  for  what  use 
the  town  shall  see  good."  This  land  was  laid  out  in  two  pieces 
and  leased  so  as  to  bring  in  ten  pounds  yearly.  It  was  held 
for  seven  years,  then  sold,  and  the  money  funded  for  the  use 
of  the  schools.  Trumbull  says  :  "  The  money  received  from 
these  sales,  amounting  to  ;^  192  3-1 0-0,  became  the  principal 
of  a  fund,  the  interest  of  which  was  expended  yearly  in  main- 
taining the  schools.  It  varied  in  amount  with  the  fluctuations 
of  the  currency,  and  was  loaned  to  individuals  on  good  se- 
curity. In  1753  it  amounted  to  ;^2095  old  tenor,  equal  to 
;^ 297-6-8  in  lawful  money,  the  interest  of  which  amounted 
to  ;^i6-i5-i2."  North  Brookfield,  in  1720,  "then  granted 
for  a  school  forty  acres  6n  the  north  side  of  the  river." 
There  had  been  two  previous  grants  in  1 7 1 7  of  eighty  acres 
each.  "  These  school  lands  were  leased  by  the  selectmen  to 
such  inhabitants  as  would  pay  the  highest  rent  and  this 


LAND  GRANTS  AND  DONATIONS      221 

income  was  applied  by  the  selectmen  (without  an  express  vote 
of  the  town)  to  the  payment  of  teachers'  wages."  In  1760 
it  was  voted  "  that  the  interest  of  the  money  due  the  town 
for  the  sale  of  common  land  called  '  The  Rocks '  and  other 
lands  sold  last  year  be  appropriated  for  the  support  of  a  free 
school  for  the  benefit  of  the  inhabitants  of  said  town,  as  the 
selectmen  shall  order  for  this  year,  and  until  the  town  shall 
further  direct  in  the  affair."  In  1659  Mendon  had  the  usual 
school  lot  and  the  schoolmaster's  home  lot.  The  grant  of  the 
General  Court  to  Lunenburg,  in  17 19,  contained  this,  "  And 
that  there  be  laid  out  and  reserved  for  the  first  settled  minister 
a  good,  convenient  lot,  also  a  lot  for  the  school."  The  next 
year,  at  a  meeting  of  the  committee,  it  was  agreed  "  that 
the  school  lot  be  laid  out  as  near  the  center  of  the  house 
lots  as  may  be." 

Hubbardston,  in  1737,  in  the  division  of  land  voted  that 
"'  lot  number  30  be  set  apart  and  remain  unalienated  for  the 
use  of  schools  in  town."  It  was  sold  in  1796  for  one  thousand 
two  hundred  seventy-six  dollars.  In  1679  "'  the  inhabitants  of 
Sherborn  exchanged  with  Natick  four  thousand  acres  of  land, 
more  or  less,  giving  two  hundred  bushels  of  Indian  corn  to 
boot.  There  was  also  to  be  a  lot  of  fifty  acres  set  out  where 
the  commissioners  of  the  Colonies  and  the  Indian  rulers  shall 
choose  within  that  tract  of  land  which  Sherborn  was  to  have 
of  Natick,  to  be  appropriated  forever  for  the  use  of  a  free 
school  for  teaching  the  English  and  Indian  children  the  Eng- 
lish language  and  other  sciences."  In  1737  it  was  voted  "  to 
make  sale  of  ;^  150  worth  of  common  lands  ;  the  income  and 
yearly  interest  to  be  towards  the  maintenance  of  a  school  in 
Natick."  At  Dedham,  in  1642,  "'  Also  it  was  with  an  unani- 
mous consent  concluded  that  some  portion  of  land  in  this 
intended  division  should  be  set  apart  for  public  use,  viz.,  for 
the  town,  the  church  and  a  free  school ;  viz.,  40  acres  at  the 
least  or  60  acres  at  the  most."  In  1644  they  voted  to  raise 
twenty  pounds  for  school  purposes,  "  and  did  also  resolve  and 


222  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

consent  to  betrust  the  said  ;^20  per  annum  and  certain  lands 
in  our  town  formerly  set  apart  for  public  use,  into  the  hands 
of  feoffes  to  be  presently  chosen  by  themselves,  to  employ 
the  said  ;^20  and  the  land  aforesaid  to  be  improved  for  the 
use  of  the  said  school ;  that  as  the  profits  shall  arise  from  the 
said  land,  every  man  may  be  proportionally  abated  of  his  sum 
of  the  said  ;^20  aforesaid  freely  to  be  given  to  the  use  afore- 
said ;  and  that  the  said  feoffees  shall  have  power  to  make  a 
rate  for  the  necessary  charge  of  improving  the  said  land,  they 
giving  account  thereof  to  the  town  or  to  those  whom  they 
should  depute." 

In  1695  "three  hundred  acres  of  land  were  granted  by 
the  proprietors  for  the  support  of  the  schools  in  the  town, 
to  be  managed  by  trustees  and  called  the  school  farm."  In 
1699  "  the  school  land  is  ordered  to  be  sold  and  the  money 
received  for  it  to  be  improved  for  the  benefit  of  a  school  in 
Dedham."  In  1722  "the  trustees  who  hold  the  school 
money  are  instructed  to  let  it  at  six  per  cent  interest."  "  On 
the  first  day  of  January,  1745,  the  trustees  of  the  school 
money  had  in  their  care  the  sum  of  ;^2 36-2-8.  This  money 
was  loaned  on  good  security  to  citizens  of  the  town." 

Boston,  in  164 1,  "ordered  that  Deer  Island  shall  be  im- 
proved for  the  maintenance  of  a  free  school  for  the  town, 
and  such  other  occasions  as  the  townsmen  for  the  time  being 
shall  think  meet,  the  said  school  being  sufficiently  provided 
for."  In  1644  it  was  let  for  three  years  at  the  rate  of  seven 
pounds  per  annum,  expressly  for  the  use  of  the  school.  In 
1647  it  was  "let  to  Edward  Bendall  of  Boston  with  all  the 
profits  thereof  whatsoever,  for  the  term  of  seven  years  next 
ensuing  the  date  thereof.  In  consideration  thereof  he  is  to 
pay  to  the  town  of  Boston  the  sum  of  ;^I4  per  annum  for 
the  schools'  use  of  the  said  town,  in  provision  and  clothing." 
The  right  of  the  inhabitants  to  cut  wood  from  the  island  was 
reserved.  In  1662  it  was  leased  to  Sir  Thomas  Temple  for 
fourteen  pounds  per  annum,  "to  be  paid  yearly  every  first 


LAND  GRANTS  AND  DONATIONS  223 

day  of  March  to  the  town  treasurer  for  the  use  of  the  free 
school."  In  1649  "it  is  further  ordered  that  the  selectmen 
of  the  town  shall  take  order  about  Long  Island  and  Spectacle 
Island  with  them  that  now  hold  it,  to  instate  it  on  them  for 
inheritance  upon  paying  a  yearly  rent  upon  every  acre  for  the 
school  use."  These  islands  were  let  at  sixpence  per  year  per 
acre,  and  the  rents  were  to  be  paid  "to  the  town  treasurer 
the  1st  of  February  forever  or  else  their  land  is  forfeit  unto 
the  town's  disposing."  In  1655  this  order  was  passed: 
"  Whereas  a  considerable  part  of  the  rent  due  to  the  use  of 
the  school  for  Long  Island  and  Spectacle  Island  is  not  brought 
in  by  the  renters  of  the  land  according  to  the  contract  with 
the  town ;  it  is  therefore  ordered  that  the  present  renters 
shall  within  ten  days  after  the  date  hereof  come  in  and  clear 
their  several  payments  due  for  the  said  land  to  the  town 
treasurer,  upon  the  forfeiture  of  the  said  lands  as  by  former 
agreement,  to  be  entered  upon  by  the  said  treasurer,  by 
warrant  under  his  hand  to  the  constable." 

A  similar  history  is  found  in  all  the  other  colonies.  Land 
grants  were  common,  and  how  to  make  them  profitable  to  the 
schools  and  retain  them,  or  to  loan  the  funds  for  which  they 
were  sold,  was  a  constantly  recurring  problem.  Hartford  had 
received  much  land  through  various  donations,  and  in  1749 
found  it  not  only  unprofitable  but  deteriorating  through 
damage  from  trespassers.  Therefore  it  was  "  voted  and  agreed 
that  all  the  lands  anciently  given  and  granted  to  the  purposes 
abovesaid,  situate  and  lying  in  this  town  on  the  east  side  of 
the  great  river,  be  by  lawful  demise  or  otherwise  disposed 
of  for  the  term  of  five  hundred  years,  or  for  such  longer  or 
shorter  time  as  the  committee  hereafter  named  and  to  that 
purpose  appointed  think  best ;  and  that  the  moneys  thereon 
arising  and  received  be  by  said  committee  carefully  loaned 
out  in  such  manner  as  shall  effectively  save  the  principal  sum 
from  any  loss ;  and  the  interest  on  such  loan  from  time  to 
time  arising  forever  hereafter  be  by  the  committee  of  said 


224  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

grammar  school  for  the  time  being  carefully  applied  to  the 
proper  use  or  uses  designed  in  the  original  donation  or  grants 
of  said  lands."  These  lands  were  leased  to  various  people 
at  differing  rates.  The  leases  ran  for  nine  hundred  years. 
Besides  the  amount  of  the  lease,  each  lessee  was  to  pay  the 
committee  "  or  the  successors  in  said  capacity,  on  the  first 
Monday  in  January,  annually,  one  silver  penny,  if  especially 
thereunto  required." 

Stratford,  in  1687,  voted  that  "what  land  the  town  hath  at 
or  near  the  ferry,  upland  and  meadow,  now  in  the  posses- 
sion of  Moses  Wheeler,  Senior,  that  the  produce  and  benefit 
thereof  shall  henceforth  forever  be  paid  and  improved  for 
and  towards  the  maintaining  of  a  public  school  for  and  in 
the  town  of  Stratford."  In  1660  New  Haven  agreed  to 
devote  "  the  Eldred  lot  and  the  oyster  shell  fields  to  edu- 
cational uses,"  in  connection  with  the  Colony  grammar 
school.  In  1728  the  Hopkins  Fund  Committee  was  given 
full  power  over  the  oyster  fields,  "to  be  improved  by  them 
for  the  upholding  of  a  grammar  school  in  the  First  Parish 
of  this  town  for  the  educating  of  children  of  Presbyterian 
parents  only,  and  no  other  use  whatever  forever,  hereafter." 
The  New  London  proprietors  granted  "  one  right  or  share 
in  all  the  divisions  of  said  common  land  towards  the  sup- 
port of  the  grammar  school  in  said  town."  In  October,  1752, 
they  prayed  for  liberty  "  to  make  sale  of  said  common  land, 
and  that  the  money  arising  by  the  sale  thereof  may  be  im- 
proved towards  the  support  of  said  school,"  and  this  was 
granted.  Goshen,  Connecticut,  in  1737,  enacted  "that  one 
of  the  fifty-three  parts  into  which  the  town  was  to  be  divided 
be  set  apart  for  the  support  of  the  schools."  This  was  drawn 
by  lot  and  leased  for  nine  hundred  ninety-nine  years.  Middle- 
town,  in  1745,  appointed  a  committee  of  three  to  look  after 
school  affairs  ;  "  and  said  committee  to  have  the  care  of  the 
school  lands  and  rent  them  out  to  the  best  advantage,  and 
the  income  thereof  to  be  paid  to  the  schoolmaster  by  said 


LAND  GRANTS  AND  DONATIONS      225 

committee  in  part  of  his  wages."  In  1787  the  school  lands 
were  let  "for  six  bushels  of  good  Indian  com."  In  1789 
it  was  voted  "  that  the  eastermost  school  land  be  now  let 
out  by  the  moderator  to  the  highest  bidder  for  one  year,  and 
the  said  land  not  to  be  plowed  nor  to  be  impoverished  by 
carrying  off  any  hay,  stones,  or  anything  that  belongs  to  the 
premises  ;  which  land  was  bid  off  to  Salisbury  Stoddard,  Esq., 
for  thirteen  bushels  of  good  merchantable  Indian  com,  the 
corn  to  be  paid  or  delivered  into  the  treasury  by  or  before 
the  expiration  of  the  aforesaid  time." 

In  the  settlement  of  New  Hampshire,  towns  generally  set 
apart  some  lands  for  the  use  of  future  schools.  These  lands 
were  often  sold,  and  to-day  towns  have  small  funds  arising 
therefrom,  the  income  of  which  is  still  devoted  to  school  use. 
Raymond  had  a  lot  of  one  hundred  acres,  which  was  sold  in 
1795,  creating  a  fund  of  nearly  twelve  hundred  dollars.  The 
interest  is  now  used  for  schools.  The  original  grant  of  Fitz- 
william  read,  "  Secondly,  that  three  of  the  aforesaid  shares 
be  and  hereby  are  appropriated,  one  for  the  first  settled  min- 
ister, one  for  the  use  of  the  ministry,  and  one  for  the  use  of 
a  school,  on  said  tract  of  land  when  settled."  This  one  share 
was  two  parcels  of  one  hundred  acres  each,  drawn  by  lot.  The 
school  lands,  like  the  ministerial,  could  not  be  sold,  but  could 
be  leased  for  a  long  term  of  years.  At  a  proprietors'  meet- 
ing in  1777  a  committee  was  chosen  "to  dispose  of  the 
ministerial  and  school  lands  and  make  returns  at  the  next 
proprietors'  meeting."  They  were  leased  in  four  lots  of  fifty 
acres  each  for  nine  hundred  ninety-nine  years,  at  six  per 
cent  on  forty-two  pounds  ten  shillings.  The  rental  was  paid 
until  18 1 5,  when  the  leases  were  renewed  in  the  name  of  the 
town.  "  The  leases  now  given  were  for  the  term  of  999 
years,  at  the  nominal  rent  of  three  cents  a  year  on  each  lot, 
the  lessees  advancing  and  paying  the  rent  in  full  except  this 
nominal  sum  of  three  cents  a  year,  and,  in  some  of  the  leases 
at  least,  this  sum  was  payable  only  when  called  for." 


226  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

The  Concord  (New  Hampshire)  school  land  was  rented  out. 
About  1730  it  was  voted  "that  ;^5  be  accepted  of  David 
Barker  and  William  Barker  for  the  rent  of  the  plowland  of  the 
school  lot  for  the  year  current."  In  1775  it  was  voted  "  that 
the  selectmen  be  a  committee  to  lease  out  the  two  intervale 
lots  belonging  to  the  school  rights,  the  term  of  two  years,  to 
the  highest  bidder.  Voted  that  the  selectmen  be  a  committee 
to  lease  out  the  eighty-acre  lot  belonging  to  the  school  right 
to  Oliver  Hoit  for  the  term  of  900  years,  he,  the  said  Hoit, 
paying  the  parish  annually  six  dollars."  In  1777  this  vote 
was  rescinded  and  "  the  selectmen  are  directed  to  receive  of 
said  Hoit  $100  in  full  consideration  for  said  lot  and  give 
said  Hoit  a  full  discharge."  Salisbury,  in  1772,  voted  "to 
raise  half  a  day's  work  on  the  single  head  to  be  done  on  the 
south  end  of  the  sixty-acre  lot,  which  was  laid  out  for  the 
school."  The  lot  was  located  "  on  Searles'  hill  on  the  center 
rangeway  by  the  parsonage,  opposite  the  ten-acre  meeting- 
house lot."  Mr.  Edward  Eastman  "  agreed  to  maintain  a 
reading  and  writing  school  for  three  months  in  the  year  for 
ten  years  and  then  a  grammar  school  for  six  months  a  year 
for  ten  years  more,  ...  if  the  town  would  give  him  the  use 
of  the  school  lot."  The  town  really  did  give  him  a  seventy- 
year  lease  but  it  was  canceled  in  a  few  years.  In  1784  it 
was  voted  "  to  sell  all  the  school  lands  and  put  the  principal 
in  the  bank  and  use  the  interest  for  the  support  of  schools 
in  the  town  annually." 

Boscawen,  in  1789,  voted  "to  dispose  of  a  portion  of  its 
school  lands  and  keep  the  fund  intact  for  educational  pur- 
poses." It  was  voted  that  "  stock  equal  to  6  fat  oxen  at 
;£\2  the  yoke,  wheat  at  5s.  per  bushel,  rye  at  4s.,  and  Indian 
com  at  3s.  be  taken  in  payment."  Many  of  the  town  grants 
stipulated  land  reservation  for  the  schools.  The  proprietors 
of  Contoocook  "  were  required  to  set  aside  one-eighty-fourth 
part  of  the  land  in  their  grant  for  school  purposes,"  and  the 
Sanbomton  grant  read,  "  And  one  share  for  the  support  of 


LAND  GRANTS  AND  DONATIONS      227 

a  schoolmaster  forever,"  Amherst  voted  that  "lots  num- 
bered 87,  88,  89  should  lie  by  for  the  present  to  make  good 
for  the  three  lots,  viz.,  one  for  the  first  settled  minister,  one 
for  the  ministry  and  one  for  the  school."  These  lots  were 
evidently  sold,  for  in  1775  an  article  in  the  town  warrant 
read,  "  To  see  if  the  town  will  allow  that  part  of  the  town 
that  was  originally  called  Amherst  to  use  the  interest  of 
the  money  their  school  right  was  lately  sold  for  in  private 
schools."  It  was  voted  No.  The  Hopkinton  charter  dif- 
fered from  most  of  them  in  this  :  there  were  two  ministers' 
lots,  "  one  of  which  lots  shall  be  for  the  first  settled  minister, 
one  for  the  second  minister,  and  one  for  the  school."  These 
lots  were  located  '"  on  the  north  range,  beginning  at  the 
meetinghouse  on  the  west  side.  No.  i,  the  minister's.  No.  5, 
the  ministerial  lot.  No.  6,  school  lot."  Weare  had  the  usual 
school  lots  but  had  received  no  income  from  them ;  so  in 
1787  it  was  voted  to  rent  them  for  a  term  "as  long  as 
wood  grows  and  water  runs."  At  Dublin  the  whole  grant 
was  to  be  divided  into  seventy-one  shares ;  three  shares  were 
allotted,  "  one  for  the  first  settled  minister  in  the  town,  one 
for  the  support  of  the  ministry,  and  one  for  the  school- 
teacher forever."  At  a  committee  meeting  at  Chester,  in 
1720,  it  was  voted  that  "whereas  the  number  of  proprietors 
is  con-  [a  part  of  this  word  is  torn  off]  and  no  provision  made 
for  a  schoolmaster,  that  the  next  proprietor  that  shall  forfeit 
his  lot,  the  same  shall  be  appropriated  for  a  school."  In 
1 79 1  it  was  voted  to  sell  the  schoolhouse  lots.  They  brought 
about  one  hundred  forty  pounds.  In  1796  the  treasurer  had 
six  hundred  dollars  school  money.  Dunbarton  appointed  a 
committee  to  lease  all  the  school  lands  for  nine  hundred 
ninety-nine  years.  "For  the  consideration  of  ;^575.20  they 
were  leased  to  John  Raymond,  he  being  the  highest  bidder 
at  a  public  vendue."  Henniker,  in  1786,  "voted  to  sell  the 
school  right  of  land.  .  .  .  Voted  that  the  sum  or  sums  that 
said  land  is  sold  for  shall  be  paid  only  for  the  support  of 


228  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

a  school,  and  the  principal  to  lie  forever."  At  Brunswick, 
Maine,  in  171 5,  the  proprietors  voted  "that  the  ministerial, 
minister's  and  school  lots  should  be  the  center  lots  of  the 
town." 

With  reference  to  Warren,  Maine,  a  legislative  act  of 
1805  appointed  five  trustees  "to  dispose  of  all  the  real 
estate  belonging  to  the  town  which  was  originally  appropri- 
ated for  the  use  of  the  schools,  to  put  the  proceeds  thereof 
at  interest  until  a  sum  be  accumulated  sufficient  to  yield  an 
annual  income  of  $200,  then  to  apply  the  same  annually  to 
the  support  of  schools,  forever."  Woodstock,  Vermont, 
settled  in  1760,  laid  out  four  lots  as  "  public  rights  "  ;  three 
were  for  the  gospel  in  some  form,  but  the  fourth  lot,  "  em- 
bracing one  hundred  acres,  was  to  be  for  the  use  of  the 
schoolmaster."  Bradford,  Vermont,  had  school  land  of  three 
hundred  acres.  In  March,  18 12,  the  town  entered  into  a 
contract  with  Jonathan  Austin,  one  of  its  inhabitants,  to 
lease  the  above-mentioned  three  hundred  acres  of  school 
land  to  him,  his  heirs  and  assigns,  "  as  long  as  wood  should 
grow  or  water  run,"  for  one  hundred  dollars  yearly.  This 
probably  went  into  the  school  fund  which  was  loaned  to  the 
town,  and  for  which  interest  is  still  paid  to  the  school  district 
every  year. 

In  May,  1663,  the  proprietors  of  Providence  passed  the 
following  order  :  "  It  is  agreed  by  this  present  assembly  that 
100  acres  of  upland  and  6  acres  of  meadow  (or  lowland  to 
the  quantity  of  8  acres  in  lieu  of  meadow)  shall  be  laid  out 
within  the  bounds  of  this  town  of  Providence ;  the  which 
land  shall  be  reserved  for  the  maintenance  of  a  school  in 
this  town ;  and  that  after  the  said  land  is  laid  out  and  the 
bounds  thereof  set,  it  shall  be  recorded  in  our  town  records 
according  unto  the  bounds  fixed,  and  shall  be  called  by  the 
name  of  the  school  land  of  Providence."  This  is  the  earliest 
grant  now  to  be  found  in  the  records  and  the  earliest  refer- 
ence to  a  school  or  any  means  of  education.    In  1685  this 


LAND  GRANTS  AND  DONATIONS      229 

petition  was  presented :  "  The  humble  request  of  William 
Turpin,  now  schoolmaster  of  the  said  town,  is  that  whereas 
there  was  a  parcel  of  land  formerly  granted  by  the  ancestors 
of  said  town,  and  was  to  be  to  the  use  and  benefit  of  a 
schoolmaster  as  by  the  records  of  the  town  book  will  more 
at  large  appear,  which  said  order  or  grant  was  read  to  me  in 
the  presence  of  several  gentlemen,  that  were  the  occasion 
of  my  settling  at  this  town,  who  promised  to  be  instru- 
mental in  the  performance  thereof,  gentlemen,  my  desire 
is,  that  the  aforesaid  land  may  be  forthwith  laid  out,  accord- 
ing to  the  said  order  or  grant,  and  that  the  said  master  or 
his  heirs  may  be  invested  in  the  said  land,  so  long  as  he  or 
any  of  them  shall  maintain  that  worthy  art  of  learning.  Thus 
leaving  it  to  you,  gentlemen,  to  give  a  speedy  answer,  accord- 
ing as  you  shall  think  meet,  I  rest  yours  to  command. 

•'  William  Turpin." 

Newport,  in  1640,  voted  "that  100  acres  should  be  laid 
forth  and  appropriated  for  a  school,  for  encouragement  of 
the  poorer  sort  to  train  up  their  youth  in  learning,  and  Mr. 
Robert  Lenthal,  while  he  continues  to  teach  school,  is  to  have 
the  benefit  thereof."  In  1663  this  tract  was  ordered  "to  be 
divided  into  lots  and  to  be  sold  or  loaned  on  condition  that 
the  purchasers  should  pay  to  the  town  treasurer  an  annual 
rental  to  constitute  a  fund  for  the  schooling  and  educating 
of  poor  children,  according  to  the  direction  of  the  Town 
Council  for  the  time  being,  who  are  hereby  empowered  to 
direct,  regulate  and  manage  the  said  charity  in  behalf  of  the 
town,  to  the  best  advantage  according  to  the  true  intent  and 
meaning  thereof."  The  Bristol  school  lands  until  18 10  were 
put  up  at  auction  at  the  annual  town  meeting,  but  after  that 
date  a  plan  of  long  leases  was  effected. 

In  addition  to  these  public  land  grants  much  land  was 
donated  by  individuals,  together  with  other  forms  of  property. 
It  all  indicated  an  earnest  desire  to  establish  the  schools  on 
a  permanent  financial  basis.    In   1649  Christopher  Stanley 


230  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

in  his  will  left  "  for  the  maintenance  of  the  free  schools  at 
Boston,  a  parcel  of  land  lying  near  to  the  water  side  and 
five  rods  in  length  backwards."  It  was  immediately  leased 
as  is  shown  by  this  item :  **  William  Philips  hath  agreed  to 
give  13s.  4d.  per  annum  forever  to  the  use  of  the  school 
for  the  land  that  Christopher  Stanley  gave  in  his  will  for 
the  school  use ;  the  rent  day  began  the  ist  of  March,  1649. 
Moses  Paine  of  Braintree  hath  let  to  him  500  acres  of  land, 
to  be  laid  out  at  Braintree,  paying  40  shillings  per  annum 
forever  for  the  use  of  the  school,  and  to  begin  his  rent  day 
on  the  first  of  May,  1649,  to  be  paid  on  the  first  day  of  the 
first  month  forever,  in  corn  or  pork,  by  the  price  current, 
and  that  to  be  paid  into  the  town  treasury  successively." 

Whately,  in  1777,  "  voted  to  accept  the  piece  of  land  given 
by  Reuben  Belding,  deceased,  for  the  use  of  the  schools  in 
the  town  of  Whately,  upon  conditions  named  in  his  will." 
These  conditions  were  :  that  it  be  an  English  school ;  that  it 
be  kept  on  Chestnut  Plain  Street,  "  near  where  the  present 
meeting  house  stands  "  ;  that  it  be  "  set  up  within  two  years," 
and  "  be  not  suffered  at  any  time  thereafter  to  cease  or  fail 
to  be  kept  up  and  maintained  for  the  term  of  six  months  in 
any  future  year."  In  spite  of  the  vote  this  was  never  carried 
out  and  the  land  was  forfeited.  At  Windsor,  Connecticut, 
about  1676,  John  Fitch,  going  out  to  King  Philip's  War, 
willed,  "  The  rest,  both  lands  and  goods,  I  give  for  the  pro- 
moting of  a  school  here  in  Windsor."  In  1775  Josiah  Sar- 
tell  left  Groton  his  place  for  rental,  etc.,  "  and  the  overplus 
of  said  rents  to  be  annually  applied  for  the  keeping  of  a  good 
woman's  school  for  the  instruction  of  the  youth  in  said  town, 
and  the  said  school  to  be  kept  in  a  part  of  the  dwelling  house 
standing  on  said  farm." 

The  will  of  William  Godden  of  Maiden,  who  died  in  1666, 
states,  '"  I  give  the  remainder  of  my  estate  that  can  any  way 
be  found  in  New  England  by  bill,  bond,  or  otherwise  due  to 
me,  I  say  I  give  the  remainder  of  my  estate  to  be  disposed 


LAND  GRANTS  AND  DONATIONS      231 

of  for  the  schooling  of  the  poor  children  of  Charlestown  and 
Maiden,  into  equal  portions,  to  be  paid  by  the  direction  of  the 
selectmen  of  each  town."  William  Coddington  early  left  to 
Braintree  one  hundred  forty-three  acres  for  school  purposes. 
According  to  the  town  records  it  was  commonly  voted  "  that 
the  town  of  Braintree  did  consent  to  lay  the  school  land,  that 
is  to  say  the  income  of  it,  for  a  salary  for  a  schoolmaster." 
In  1 7 14  Mr.  Byfield  "for  and  in  consideration  of  a  due  re- 
gard which  he  had  for  the  advancement  of  learning  and 
good  education,"  conveyed  certain  lands  to  Bristol  "  for  the 
use  of  the  schools  forever."  These  lands  were  rented  and 
supported  the  schools  for  over  one  hundred  years  before  an 
appropriation  was  asked  from  the  town.  At  Boxford,  in  1791, 
the  Honorable  Aaron  Wood  willed  his  real  estate  to  sup- 
port a  grammar  school.  "  I  give  the  use  of  my  pew  in  the 
meeting  house  to  the  same  purpose  as  my  real  estate."  Cap- 
tain Timothy  Wheeler  gave  encouragement  and  support  to 
education  in  Concord,  in  1687,  by  the  following  clause  in 
his  will :  "I  give  to  the  town  of  Concord  my  house  that 
stands  near  Eliazer  Flagg's  house,  with  the  land  that  it 
stands  upon  and  is  joined  to  it,  which  is  about  three  acres, 
be  it  more  or  less,  bounded  by  the  highway  on  the  northeast, 
by  my  land,  the  gutter  and  Eliazer  Flagg's  land  on  the^  north, 
west  and  south.  That,  I  say,  I  give  to  the  said  town  to  be 
improved  as  followeth  : — That  about  half  an  acre  of  the  said 
lot  be  laid  out  to  the  training  place,  the  fence  to  be  run 
from  the  comer  of  the  house  to  the  brow  of  the  hill  upon 
a  straight  line  ;  the  dwelling  house  with  the  rest  of  the  land 
with  all  that  is  upon  it,  I  give  to  be  improved  for  the  further- 
ance of  learning  and  the  support  of  a  school  in  the  said  town," 
The  grammar  school  at  Ipswich,  in  165 1,  was  endowed  by 
Robert  Payne.  This  is  the  preamble  of  the  deed  :  "  Whereas, 
after  several  overtures  and  endeavors  among  the  inhabitants 
of  said  Ipswich,  for  settling  a  grammar  school  in  that  place, 
it  was  proffered  by  the  said  Robert  .  .  .  that  he  would  erect 


232  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

an  edifice  for  such  a  purpose,  provided  it  might  be  put  into 
the  hands  of  certain  discreet  and  faithful  persons  of  the  said 
town  and  their  successors,  which  himself  should  nominate, 
to  be  ordered  and  managed  by  them  as  feoffees,  in  trust  for 
that  end,  and  their  successors  forever ;  provided,  also,  that 
the  town  or  any  particular  inhabitant  of  the  town  would 
devote,  set  apart,  and  give  any  land  or  other  annuity  for  the 
yearly  maintenance  of  such  one  as  should  be  fit  to  keep  a 
grammar  school ;  And  whereas  said  town  of  Ipswich  at  a 
public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants,  January  ii,  1650,  granted 
all  the  neck  beyond  Chebacco  River,  and  the  rest  of  the 
ground  (up  to  Gloucester  line)  adjoining  to  it,  to  the  said 
Robert  Payne  and  William  Payne,  to  whom  by  the  desire 
and  consent  of  the  said  town  at  the  same  time  were  added 
Major  Denison  and  William  Bartholomew,  for  the  use  of  the 
school."  Other  assistance  was  given  as  is  shown  by  these 
items  :  "  And  that  the  said  Robert  did  in  the  year  following, 
viz.,  1652,  purchase  an  house  with  two  acres  of  land  be- 
longing to  it,  more  or  less,  for  the  use  of  the  schoolmaster, 
and  did  likewise  in  the  succeeding  year,  1653,  at  his  own 
proper  cost  and  charge  build  an  edifice  for  a  grammar 
school  which  was  erected  upon  a  part  of  the  land  so  pur- 
chased." "  Mr.  William  Hubbard  gave  about  an  acre  of  land 
adjoining  to  the  said  schoolmaster's  house  about  the  same 
time."  "  William  Payne  gave  the  island  at  the  mouth  of  our 
river  called  Little  Neck."  "  Mr.  John  Cross,  in  December, 
1650,  secured  on  his  farm  near  Rowley  the  payment  of  10 
shillings  towards  a  free  school."  This  was  the  school  of  which 
Ezekiel  Cheever  was  master  for  ten  years.  "  He  built  a 
bam  and  planted  an  orchard  which,  on  his  removal,  were 
purchased  by  the  feoffees  and  added  to  the  property  of  the 
institution."  In  1642  the  will  of  Samuel  Hugburne  read : 
"  When  Roxbuiy  shall  set  up  a  free  school  in  the  town, 
there  shall  be  ten  s.  per  annum  out  of  the  house  and  house 
lot   paid  unto  it   forever."    Dillaway  says,   '"  There  is   no 


LAND  GRANTS  AND  DONATIONS      233 

evidence  on  record  that  our  school  ever  received  this  annuity." 
In  1 67 1  Mr,  Thomas  Bell  made  his  will  bequeathing  to 
trustees  all  his  houses  and  lands  in  Roxbury  "  to  and  for 
instructing  of  poor  men's  children  at  Roxbury."  Various 
other  donations  were  made  to  the  town  by  John  Ruggles, 
in  1676,  and  by  Hugh  Thomas  and  his  wife,  also  in  1676, 
who  proposed  "  to  make  over  their  house,  orchard,  house 
lot,  and  night  pasture,  provided  that  they  would  agree  to 
take  care  of  and  provide  for  them  in  sickness  and  health, 
during  their  natural  lives,  and  decently  inter  them  after  their 
death.  At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  held  March  23,  1676, 
the  proposal  of  Thomas  was  accepted  on  condition  that  he 
would  make  a  legal  conveyance  of  his  property  to  John  Weld, 
Edward  Morris  and  John  Watson  as  feoffees,  in  trust  for 
the  use  of  said  inhabitants.  This  agreement  was  signed  by 
twenty-five  inhabitants,  and  the  said  Thomas  conveyed  all 
his  real  estate  by  deed,  dated  April  7,  1677  ;  and  also  by 
assignment  all  the  real  estate  of  his  nephew,  John  Roberts, 
which  was  conveyed  to  him  by  will  of  said  Roberts,  a  short 
time  previous ;  and  in  1687,  by  another  assignment,  all  his 
bills,  bonds,  legacies,"  etc.  In  1693  John  Watson  gave  three 
acres  of  salt  marsh  for  the  use  of  the  school,  and  in  1689  the 
Reverend  John  Eliot  deeded  about  seventy-five  acres  of  land 
"  to  and  for  the  maintenance,  support  and  encouragement  of 
a  school  and  schoolmaster  at  that  part  of  Roxbury  commonly 
called  Jamaica  or  Pond  Plain,  for  the  teaching  and  instruct- 
ing of  the  children  of  that  end  of  the  town  (together  with 
such  negroes  or  Indians  as  may  or  shall  come  to  said  school), 
and  to  no  other  use,  intent  or  purpose,  under  any  color  or 
pretence  whatever."  In  1796  a  committee  was  appointed 
"  to  lease  the  school  farm  and  all  the  other  lands  belonging 
to  the  grammar  school  in  the  easterly  part  of  Roxbury, 
except  Mead's  orchard,  at  public  vendue,  to  the  highest 
bidder,  for  the  term  of  1 20  years,  .  .  .  the  net  proceeds  to 
be  vested  in  other  real  estate." 


234  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

The  value  of  such  donations  was  recognized  in  the  Con- 
necticut Colony  by  the  passage  in  1684  of  this  order:  "  For 
the  encouragement  of  learning  and  promoting  the  public 
concernments,  it  is  ordered  by  this  court,  that  for  the  future, 
that  all  such  houses  and  lands  as  are  or  shall  by  any  chari- 
table persons  be  given  or  purchased  for  or  to  help  on  the 
maintenance  of  the  ministry,  or  schools  or  poor,  in  any  part 
of  this  Colony,  they  shall  remain  to  the  use  or  uses  for  which 
they  were  given  forever,  and  shall  be  exempted  out  of  the 
list  of  estates  and  be  rate  free,  any  former  law  or  order  not- 
withstanding." In  1654  William  Gibbins  gave  his  land  in 
Peniwise  "  towards  the  maintenance  of  a  Latin  school  at 
Hartford,  .  .  .  and  until  the  lease  of  John  Sadler  be  ex- 
pired, I  give  out  of  the  rent  due  from  him  50  shillings 
yearly."  This  land  was  let  in  1756  by  the  committee  in 
charge  "  on  a  long  lease  which  will  not  expire  for  centuries 
to  come."  In  17 10  it  was  voted  "  that  the  school  committee 
are  empowered  to  exchange  and  convey  the  house  and  home- 
lot  belonging  to  the  town,  that  is  improved  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  school  in  this  town,  either  for  meadow  land  or 
for  other  lands  that  may  be  of  benefit  and  advantage  to  the 
said  school"  ;  and  in  171 3  it  was  voted  "that  whereas  the 
yearly  income  and  rents  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Latin 
School  in  this  town  are  supposed  to  be  sufficient  to  maintain 
the  same,  that  the  sum  of  ;^  5  in  money  be  levied  and  collected 
by  town  rate  annually  (if  need  be),  as  an  addition  to  the  said 
incomes  to  maintain  the  said  school."  One  of  the  largest 
personal  grants  was  that  of  Edward  Hopkins  in  1657,  who 
willed  some  of  his  New  England  property,  "  to  give  some 
encouragement  in  those  foreign  plantations  for  the  breeding 
up  of  hopeful  youths,  both  at  the  grammar  school  and  college, 
for  the  public  service  of  the  country  in  future  times."  This 
fund  became  available  in  1664,  and  Hartford  received  four 
hundred  pounds  of  it.  The  income  from  that  fund  still  pays 
for  the  classical  teacher  in  that  city.   The  rest  of  the  estate 


LAND  GRANTS  AND  DONATIONS      235 

was  to  be  "  all  of  it  equally  divided  between  the  towns  of 
New  Haven  and  Hadley,  to  be  managed  and  improved  for 
the  erecting  and  maintaining  a  school  in  each  of  the  said 
towns."  Hadley  received  three  hundred  eight  pounds  out 
of  the  Hopkins  legacy  for  grammar  schools,  and  in  1667 
the  "  town  have  granted  to  and  for  the  use  of  a  grammar 
school  in  this  town  of  Hadley,  and  to  be  and  remain  per- 
petually to  and  for  the  use  of  the  said  school,  the  two  little 
meadows,"  etc. 

William  Grimes  willed  his  land  to  Greenwich  for  the  good 
of  the  town ;  the  trustees  agreed  "  that  it  be  for  the  use  of 
the  minister,  and  if  no  minister  be  in  the  place,  the  profit 
of  the  said  land  and  meadows  be  improved  to  help  to  main- 
tain such  as  shall  be  employed  to  teach  children  to  read." 

People  who  had  no  land  to  give  frequently  gave  other 
donations  to  show  their  interest  in  the  establishment  of 
schools  and  their  desire  to  aid  in  the  good  work.  These 
sums,  often  small,  must  have  greatly  aided  in  the  work  in 
the  earlier  years.  In  1645  Thomas  Bell,  who  afterwards  did 
make  a  land  donation,  gave  thirteen  shillings  to  the  school ; 
later  it  was  made  fifteen  shillings,  and  in  1669  twenty  shil- 
lings. Edward  Hopkins  gave  a  personal  donation  to  the 
Cambridge  Grammar  School. 

In  1654  Boston  ordered  "that  the  p^io  left  by  legacy  to 
the  use  of  the  school  of  Boston  by  Miss  Hudson,  deceased, 
shall  be  let  to  Capt.  James  Oliver  for  i6s,  per  annum,  so 
long  as  he  pleases  to  improve  it,  the  which  he  is  to  pay  in 
wheat,  pease,  and  Indian  corn  to  the  town  treasurer  every 
first  of  the  first  month,  beginning  in  March,  1654-5,  ^nd 
upon  his  delivery  of  the  principal  to  the  town  treasury,  it 
shall  be  paid  in  com  as  aforementioned."  In  1680  Dr. 
William  Avery  gave  Dedham  sixty  pounds  for  the  support 
of  a  Latin  school.  Mr.  Samuel  Veasey  gave  Braintree 
twenty  pounds.  A  later  record  of  the  selectmen  says  :  "  There 
is  jC  1 4  lawful  money,  being  part  of  Mr.  Samuel  Veasey 's 


236  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

gift  to  the  school,  in  Samuel  Payne's  hand.  The  other  part, 
being  £,6,  is  in  Mr.  Samuel  Marshall's  hand  of  Boston,  mer- 
chant." In  17 1 7  the  town  accepted  ''  £^  in  bills  of  credit 
in  lieu  of  the  ;i^6,"  and  gave  "  said  Marshall  a  full  discharge 
for  said  legacy."  Deacon  Nathaniel  Kingsbury  of  Dedham, 
in  1749,  made  this  proposition  :  "'  Gentlemen,  being  desirous 
of  the  flourishing  state  of  learning  in  this  place,  I  purpose  a 
donation  to  the  town  of  p^  100  old  tenor,  the  yearly  interest  of 
which  to  be  appropriated  to  the  use  of  the  school,  if  it  may 
be  acceptable,  under  such  regulations  as  the  town  in  their 
wisdom  and  prudence  shall  see  meet  to  order  and  appoint." 

In  1763  Comfort  Starr  left  Danbury  eight  hundred 
pounds,  the  schoolmaster  "to  be  paid  his  wages  out  of  the 
interest  of  the  said  ;^8cx)."  In  1771  Captain  Ephraim 
Brigham  left  Marlboro  one  hundred  eleven  pounds -as  a 
permanent  fund,  the  interest  of  which  was  to  be  "  annually 
expended  in  hiring  some  suitable  person  to  keep  a  school  in 
the  middle  of  the  town,  to  teach  young  people  the  arts  of 
writing  and  cyphering."  In  1782  Dr.  Daniel  Lathrop  left 
Norwich  five  hundred  pounds,  "  the  interest  to  be  annually 
improved  for  the  support  of  a  school  for  all  the  inhabitants 
of  the  whole  town."  In  1789  Mrs.  Sarah  Winslow  offered 
Dunstable  one  thousand  three  hundred  thirty-three  pounds 
six  shillings  eight  pence,  lawful  money,  one  half  for  the 
gospel  and  the  rest  for  school  use  under  this  condition : 
"  That  a  convenient  house  for  a  grammar  school  be  built 
within  one  year  as  near  the  said  meetinghouse  as  the 
grounds  will  admit  a  house  for  said  purpose,  and  on  the 
said  ground  to  be  upheld  forever,  and  such  a  learned  and 
virtuous  schoolmaster  be  provided  as  the  President  of  the 
University  in  Cambridge  shall  recommend,  provided,  like- 
wise that  I  am  not  held  to  pay  parish  taxes,  nor  any  more 
expenses  for  the  support  of  a  school  in  said  town."  The  town 
accepted  the  offer,  but  the  west  part  objected  so  decidedly 
that  later  in  the  year  she  retracted  and  gave  the  money  to 


LAND  GRANTS  AND  DONATIONS      237 

"  the  people  that  lately  formed  the  First  Parish,  and  to  such 
others  as  will  cheerfully  accept  of  it."  The  parish  accepted 
and  in  June  it  was  incorporated  into  a  district,  now  Tyngs- 
boro.  In  18 1 2  the  Honorable  Samuel  Dexter  made  a  donation 
to  Dedham  and,  in  making  it,  suggested  "  that  certain  sums 
formerly  appropriated  for  the  same  purpose,  both  principal 
and  interest  of  which  were  expended  during  the  Revolution 
in  hiring  soldiers,  should  be  replaced  by  the  town."  Many 
of  these  early  donations  have  disappeared,  as  in  Dedham, 
through  the  severe  struggles  of  the  Revolution  or  those 
preceding  that  period.  They  became  absorbed  in  the  town 
finances,  disappeared,  and  were  not  replaced  by  succeeding 
generations.  Certain  money  from  the  sale  of  land  belonging 
to  the  schools  was  disposed  of  by  Canton  in  1791  by  this 
vote :  "In  the  present  embarrassing  situation  of  the  town, 
it  is  judged  expedient  for  the  town  to  make  use  of  the 
school  money  to  pay  their  debts,  on  interest;  but  at  the 
same  time  it  is  hereby  declared  that  the  town  will  by  no 
means  alienate  the  fund,  but  will  again  raise  and  refund  the 
money,  which  shall  be  applied  to  the  use  of  the  schools, 
agreeable  to  the  design  of  the  donor."  In  17 12  the  school 
fund  in  Plymouth  had  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  an 
amount  of  only  ten  pounds  was  needed  to  defray  the  expense 
of  the  school.  Davis  in  his  history  of  the  town  says  :  "  What 
became  of  this  fund  it  is  difficult  to  learn,  but  as  it  was 
stated  in  a  report  in  1756  on  the  financial  affairs  of  the 
town  that  it  had  sometimes  been  suffered  to  mingle  with 
other  town  expenditures,  it  is  quite  probable  that  it  was 
finally  absorbed  by  the  general  wants  of  the  town." 

Duxbury,  in  1753,  appointed  three  men  as  "their  com- 
mittee to  demand  the  money,  with  interest  thereunto  belong- 
ing, of  those  persons  that  hired  the  money  that  was  formerly 
granted  to  the  town  by  virtue  of  land  that  was  sold  at 
Souhigan  for  the  use  of  the  grammar  school,  or  else  to  see 
that  said  persons  procure  some  good  able  bondsmen  for  the 


238  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

money  aforesaid,  with  the  interest  thereof,  to  their  satisfaction 
for  securing  the  said  money  to  said  town."  At  a  later  meet- 
ing the  town  wanted  a  report  "'  of  what  there  is  due  to  the 
town  of  the  interest  money  that  is  for  the  use  of  the  gram- 
mar school,"  and  in  1762  the  town  treasurer  was  given 
power  "  to  sue  out  the  several  bonds  the  town  has  against 
or  of  several  persons  for  the  money  they  had  of  the  town 
that  was  appropriated  for  the  use  of  a  grammar  school." 

It  had  been  the  general  custom  to  convert  the  lands  into 
funds,  in  the  expectation  that  a  larger  income  might  be 
derived  therefrom.  Loans  were  made  on  a  good  business 
basis,  usually,  but  town  difficulties  and  business  depressions 
due  to  the  irregular  currency  and  tax  burdens  caused  shrink- 
age and  losses,  until  most  of  the  values  donated  before  the 
Revolution  disappeared.  A  few  towns  receiving  early  grants 
returned  them,  and  most  of  those  whose  grants  are  dated  in 
the  later  1700's  still  have  the  use  of  the  funds.  Loss  of 
funds  can  be  charged  to  conditions,  not  to  intention.  A  few 
records  will  show  the  tendency  of  towns  to  care  for  these 
donations  and  to  make  them  as  profitable  as  possible. 

In  1725  Sutton  voted  "that  Freegrace  Marble  and  Eben- 
ezer  Dagit  be  a  committee  to  take  care  of  the  school  lot  and 
the  ministerial  lot  that  there  be  no  waste  of  the  wood  and 
timber  "  ;  but  later  in  the  year  it  was  voted  "  that  the  school 
land  in  Sutton  be  all  sold,  reserving  the  thirty-acre  lot,  and 
the  money  to  be  put  out  for  the  benefit  of  a  school  in  Sutton 
forever."  In  1772  Westminster  voted  "to  sell  all  the  school 
lands  within  the  town,  the  money  arising  by  sale  thereof  to 
be  let  out  at  interest  for  the  benefit  of  a  school."  Salisbury, 
in  1772,  voted  to  "raise  half  a  day's  work  on  the  single 
head,  to  be  done  on  the  south  end  of  the  sixty-acre  lot  which 
was  laid  for  the  school."  In  1784  it  was  voted  to  sell  all  the 
school  lands,  put  the  money  in  the  bank,  and  use  the  interest 
to  support  schools.  In  1779  Winchendon  voted  "that  the 
town  will  not  take  the  present  currency  for  the  rents  on  those 


LAND  GRANTS  AND  DONATIONS      239 

school  and  ministerial  lands  wherein  the  lease  mentions  lawful 
money  of  Great  Britain."  At  Douglass,  '"  in  1750,  a  vote  is 
recorded  to  sell  the  school  lot  lying  by  the  meeting  house  to 
the  highest  bidder  at  ^6  old  tenor  per  annum."  The  next 
year  the  money  was  invested.  The  school  lands  given  by 
proprietors  of  Sherburne  were  sold  gradually;  in  1763  the 
income  was  sufficient  "  with  the  addition  of  only  jQ^  to 
comfortably  support  five  schools  in  as  many  different  parts 
of  the  town." 

The  support  of  schools  was  a  burden  which  people  of  the 
present  day  cannot  realize.  All  expedients  to  relieve  the 
burden  aided  in  efficiency  and  in  establishing  permanence. 
Though  the  men  of  the  third  and  fourth  generations  from 
the  original  settlers  were  seemingly  indifferent  to  the  schools, 
and  though  education  went  to  a  low  ebb,  it  is  chargeable  more 
to  inability  than  to  indifference.  The  long  list  of  private  gifts 
and  donations  point  to  the  fact  that  the  spirit  of  education 
was  neither  dead  nor  sleeping ;  it  was  crushed  by  circum- 
stances from  which  these  private  resources  finally  aided  it  to 
emerge  and  grow. 


IX 
SCHOOLHOUSES 

In  August,  1904,  it  was  my  privilege  to  visit  a  small 
school  in  a  lumber  camp  in  the  middle  of  the  Maine  woods. 
It  was  housed  in  an  old  freight  car  contributed  by  the 
Bangor  and  Aroostook  Railroad.  This  car  had  been  re- 
moved from  its  trucks,  skidded  into  the  woods,  and  set  up 
in  a  small  clearing.  In  it  were  two  small  windows,  a  door, 
twenty  desks,  and  a  small  blackboard.  It  was  occupied  by 
some  eighteen  pupils  and  had  as  teacher  a  young  lady  who 
taught  in  this  school  from  April  to  October,  and  attended 
one  of  the  Maine  Normal  Schools  the  rest  of  the  year.  The 
following  winter  I  visited  a  school  building  in  New  York, 
which  cost  nearly  a  million  dollars  and  accommodates  almost 
five  thousand  pupils.  There  are  two  hundred  fifty  thousand 
schoolhouses  in  the  United  States  between  these  two  ex- 
tremes, any  one  of  which  is  more  sumptuous,  better  lighted, 
better  seated,  better  equipped  than  most  of  those  which  shel- 
tered the  early  schools. 

There  is  a  generally  erroneous  idea  that  the  colonists  built 
the  schoolhouse  soon  after  towns  were  settled.  In  point  of 
fact,  the  meetinghouse,  the  gristmill,  and  the  pound,  all  pre- 
ceded the  schoolhouse.  Naturally,  with  their  religious  zeal, 
the  church  preceded  the  school ;  the  meetinghouse  was  the 
first  public  building,  while  the  schoolhouse  often  waited  for 
more  than  a  generation  before  it  was  voted  and  longer  before 
it  was  built.  At  Chester,  in  1720,  at  a  meeting  of  proprietors, 
it  was  voted  "  that  as  soon  as  thirty  householders  are  settled 
there  shall  be  a  minister  of  the  gospel  maintained  by  the 
whole  proprietary ;  and  as  soon  as  fifty  families  are  settled 

240 


SCHOOLHOUSES  241 

there  shall  be  a  meetinghouse  for  the  public  worship  of  God 
built  by  the  whole  proprietary."  There  is  no  record  of  their 
first  schoolhouse,  though  in  1737  it  was  voted  to  have  a 
schoolmaster. 

Springfield  was  founded  in  1636,  recognized  by  the  Gen- 
eral Court  in  1641,  but  did  not  build  its  first  schoolhouse 
until  1679.  It  was  voted  ponderously  that  "there  should  be 
an  house  erected  for  that  noble  design  of  learning  the  youth 
in  those  necessary  pieces  or  parts  of  learning  ;  videl.,  reading 
and  writing."  The  first  meetinghouse  was  built  in  1644,  and 
on  September  4,  1646,  this  entry  was  made  :  "A  bargain 
was  drawn  the  day  abovesaid  betwixt  the  town  of  Springfield 
and  Francis  Ball  for  a  shop  for  a  smith,  which  is  to  be  12  feet 
wide,  16  feet  in  length,  6  feet  stud  betwixt  joints,  a  chimney 
for  the  forge  runged,  to  be  boarded  both  roof  and  sides,  to 
make  a  door  and  window  in  the  end,  with  a  beam  in  the 
midst,  for  which  work  to  be  satisfactorily  accomplished  by 
September,  the  28th,  next,  the  town  doth  condition  to  pay 
him  jCs  either  in  wheat  at  3s.  8d.  per  bushel,  or  work  as  he 
shall  need  it,  to  be  paid  in  unto  him  the  loth  of  March  next 
at  the  house  of  Harry  Smith.  It  is  agreed  that  this  house 
shall  remain  in  the  hands  of  the  town  till  they  see  cause  to 
dispose  otherwise  of  it."  In  1658  the  building  was  given  to 
John  Stewart.  This  is  given  merely  to  show  that  religion 
and  life,  the  material  things  as  found  in  the  gristmill  and  the 
smithy,  necessarily  received  first  consideration.  This  is  a 
general,  not  a  special,  condition. 

Deerfield,  settled  in  1677,  voted  its  first  schoolhouse  in 
1698.  Easton,  settled  in  1725,  built  its  first  schoolhouse 
in  1770.  Braintree  was  settled  in  1640;  the  date  of  the 
first  schoolhouse  is  not  given,  but  it  was  mentioned  in  1679 
and  was  called  "the  old  school  house"  in  1700.  As  these 
early  buildings  were  very  poorly  built  and  seldom  lasted  over 
twenty  years,  it  is  probable  that  it  was  not  erected  many  years 
previous  to  1679.    There  was  no  mention  of  a  schoolhouse  in 


242  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Charlestown  until  1648,  twelve  years  after  the  school  was  be- 
gun. Medfield,  settled  in  1650,  considered  building  a  school- 
house  in  1 66 1,  and  built  it  five  years  later.  Framingham  had 
been  founded  sixty  years  before  the  first  schoolhouse  was  men- 
tioned, which,  however,  was  not  built  for  another  ten  years. 
Medford  built  its  meetinghouse  in  1696,  but  made  no  mention 
of  a  school  until  17 19.  The  first  mention  of  a  schoolhouse 
was  in  the  town  warrant  of  November,  1729  :  "  And  also  to 
know  whether  the  town  will  have  the  old  meetinghouse  taken 
down  and  the  material  improved  towards  building  a  school- 
house  for  the  use  of  the  town."  After  three  years  more  of 
wrangling  in  eight  town  meetings  the  building  was  completed. 
Newton  was  set  off  from  Cambridge  in  1679 ;  twenty  ytears 
later  the  town  voted  to  build  a  schoolhouse  "  as  soon  as  they 
can."  Amesbury  was  settled  in  1668.  In  17 16  their  town- 
clerk  teacher,  Orlando  Bagley,  Jr.,  "  doth  give  and  grant  to 
and  for  the  use  of  said  town  one  half  quarter  of  an  acre  of 
land  fronting  on  the  county  road  adjacent  to  a  town  highway, 
on  the  west  side,  for  the  privilege  of  setting  a  schoolhouse  on 
so  long  as  the  town  see  cause  there  to  keep  a  school."  The 
meeting  voted  "  to  build  a  schoolhouse,  to  be  built  within 
the  space  of  two  years  after  the  date  hereof,  to  be  finished 
and  set  on  the  land  before  mentioned,  at  the  town's  cost." 
Hampton,  New  Hampshire,  engaged  its  first  schoolmaster  in 
1649,  but  no  mention  is  made  of  a  schoolhouse  until  1692. 
This  was  at  the  time  of  King  William's  War.  "  The  people, 
liable  to  be  attacked  at  any  moment,  had  built  a  fortification 
around  the  meetinghouse  and  at  a  town  meeting  held  on  the 
17th  of  May,  1692,  voted  to  extend  the  line  of  this  fortifi- 
cation so  as  to  enclose  more  space,  and  liberty  was  granted 
to  build  houses  in  it  according  to  the  custom  in  other  forts. 
It  was  also  voted  to  build  within  the  fort  at  the  town's  ex- 
pense a  house  fourteen  by  sixteen  feet  for  the  use  of  the 
minister,  and  when  not  occupied  by  him  to  be  used  as  a 
schoolhouse." 


SCHOOLHOUSES  243 

Plymouth's  first  schoolhouse  was  built  by  private  subscrip- 
tion in  1705  and  was  bought  by  the  town  the  following 
year.  Haverhill  was  settled  in  1641,  but  no  schoolhouse 
vote  was  taken  until  1670,  when  this  was  passed:  "Voted 
that  forthwith  there  shall  be  a  house  erected  and  built  as 
near  the  meetinghouse  that  now  is  as  may  be,  which  may  be 
convenient  for  the  keeping  of  a  public  school  in,  and  for  the 
service  of  a  watch  house,  and  for  the  entertainment  of  such 
persons  on  the  Sabbath  day  at  noon  as  shall  desire  to  repair 
thither  and  shall  not  repair  between  the  forenoon  and  after- 
noon exercises  to  their  own  dwellings,  which  house  is  to  be 
erected  upon  that  which  is  now  the  town's  common  land  or 
reserved  for  public  use."  The  cost  was  to  be  raised  by  sub- 
scription, but  if  the  voluntary  contributions  were  not  enough 
the  whole  cost  was  to  be  taxed  on  the  town.  Whether  or 
not  it  was  built  is  uncertain,  for  in  1700  it  was  ordered  that 
a  building  "  be  erected  for  a  watch  house,  schoolhouse,  and 
for  any  other  use  to  which  it  might  be  appropriated,"  and 
in  1723  a  building  was  erected  for  the  double  purpose  of  a 
watch  house  and  a  schoolhouse.  Norton,  incorporated  in 
171 1,  began  the  usual  schoolhouse  struggle  in  1789,  but 
did  not  build  any  until  after  1800.  Chelmsford,  settled  in 
1655,  had  no  schoolhouse  until  17 18,  when  one  was  built 
by  private  subscription  on  land  given  by  a  citizen  :  '"  These 
presents  declare  that  I,  William  Fletcher,  above  said,  do 
give  the  3  rods  and  one  half,  above  laid  out  at  the  northerly 
comer  of  the  burying  place,  on  which  the  schoolhouse  stands, 
to  them  that  built  it,  to  them,  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever, 
and  to  that  use  forever."  Maiden,  settled  in  1649,  began  to 
consider  a  schoolhouse  in  171 1,  when  "it  was  put  to  vote 
whether  the  town  would  build  a  schoolhouse  and  set  it  on 
the  town  land  on  the  west  side  of  the  way  over  against  the 
watch  house."  The  town  voted  No,  but  changed  its  mind 
later  in  the  year.  This  was  the  only  schoolhouse  built  until 
1752,  when  "  particular  persons"  were  granted  permission  to 


244  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

erect  another.  Weymouth,  settled  in  1635,  had  its  first  school 
in  165 1,  but  had  no  schoolhouse  for  thirty  years  after  it  had 
a  schoolmaster.  Northampton,  when  the  second  meeting- 
house was  built  in  1664,  made  the  abandoned  meetinghouse 
into  its  first  schoolhouse  and  used  it  for  nearly  thirty  years. 
The  first  real  schoolhouse  was  built  in  1693.  Not  only  was 
this  old  meetinghouse  the  schoolhouse,  but  during  King 
Philip's  War  it  was  appointed  "'  to  be  the  house  for  their 
watch  house,  to  keep  the  court  of  guard  in  this  trouble- 
some time." 

These  illustrations  of  the  lapses  of  time  between  settle- 
ment and  schoolhouse  building,  taken  from  the  earlier  towns, 
can  be  duplicated  all  through  the  colonial  period.  Each  new 
town  repeated  the  experience.  The  following  account  from 
Hollis,  New  Hampshire,  will  sufficiently  show  the  tendency. 
In  1 749  the  fir^t  meetinghouse  was  sold  at  public  auction  for 
forty-nine  pounds.  It  was  voted  "  that  the  money  the  old 
meetinghouse  sold  for  be  applied  to  the  building  of  a  school- 
house."  But  none  was  built.  Four  years  later  a  house  was 
bought  for  a  schoolhouse,  but  in  1755  it  was  voted  "  to  give 
Samuel  Cummings  one  half  of  the  old  meetinghouse  for  the 
use  of  the  house  the  town  bought  of  him  for  a  schoolhouse, 
the  three  years  they  had  it,  and  said  Samuel  Cummings  to 
have  his  house  again." 

It  is  obvious  that  if  towns  did  not  build  schoolhouses,  the 
^\^  schoolmaster  and  his  charges  had  to  be  lodged  in  other  build- 
ings. This  was  a  simple  matter  in  the  summer  time,  when 
barns,  and  watch  houses,  and  the  meetinghouse  were  resorted 
to.  But  in  winter,  when  there  must  be  warmth  as  well  as 
room,  dwelling  houses  —  the  kitchen  or  some  other  room 
with  a  fireplace  —  were  rented.  As  the  meetinghouse  was 
the  first  public  building  erected,  always  in  the  center  of  the 
town,  and  as  the  first  school  was  established  in  the  same 
center,  this  building  in  the  nature  of  events  was  commonly 
used  for  these  early  school  purposes.    At  Watertown,  in 


SCHOOLHOUSES  245 

1650,  "it  is  ordered  and  agreed  that  Mr.  Richard  Norcross 
doth  intend  to  begin  his  employment  for  the  teaching  of 
the  young  ones  of  the  town  and  to  attend  it  at  the  meeting- 
house the  next  second  day."  Again  in  1683  it  was  voted 
with  reference  to  the  grammar  school,  "And  if  the  number 
be  large,  the  town  to  have  places  provided  for  the  boys  in 
the  meetinghouse."  In  1656  Beverly  built  a  meetinghouse, 
which  was  also  used  for  a  schoolhouse  for  some  eighteen 
years,  when  it  was  voted  to  build  a  schoolhouse.  This  was 
evidently  not  erected,  for  in  1677  it  was  arranged  with  the 
schoolmaster  "  that  he  should  have  the  meetinghouse  to 
teach  in  during  that  summer  and  some  other  place  during 
the  winter."  For  many  years  the  school  in  Newbury  was 
taught  in  the  meetinghouse.  Though  a  schoolhouse  had 
been  previously  voted  in  1702,  the  selectmen  were  made 
a  committee  "to  consider  and  report  what  it  will  cost  to 
remove  the  old  meetinghouse  farther  from  the  new  meeting- 
house and  to  fit  it  up  for  a  court  house,  town  house  and  school- 
house."  The  committee  made  a  favorable  report  the  next 
year,  and  the  old  meetinghouse  was  put  to  the  proposed 
uses.  Exeter,  in  1703,  voted  "to  keep  school  three  months 
in  the  old  meetinghouse  and  the  rest  of  the  year  at  their  dis- 
cretion." Taunton,  in  1758,  voted  "that  the  school  should 
be  kept  in  the  public  meetinghouse  or  the  nearest  place  or 
house  next  to  said  meetinghouse,  where  they  can  get  a  place 
to  have  said  school  kept  in,  for  the  next  three  months  after 
said  school  shall  be  opened."  At  Gloucester  the  school  was 
kept  in  the  meetinghouse  until  1708.  In  1724  the  school  at 
Norton  was  kept  during  the  first  and  third  quarters  in  dwell- 
ings but  during  the  last  quarter  "at  the  meetinghouse." 
Whately,  in  1772,  set  up  the  frame  of  a  schoolhouse  but  did 
not  finish  the  building.  Two  years  later  "the  question  came 
before  the  town  to  see  if  any  conveniences  should  be  made  in 
the  meetinghouse  for  schooling.  The  town  voted  in  the  nega- 
tive ;  very  wisely  it  would  seem,  as  the  meetinghouse  was  quite 


246  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

as  unfinished  as  the  schoolhouse."  Wilham  Baldwin,  who 
taught  the  school  in  the  district  at  the  north  meetinghouse 
in  Goshen,  Connecticut,  says,  "The  schoolroom  was  planked 
off  from  a  portion  of  the  lower  floor  of  the  old  meetinghouse." 

Dwelling  houses  were  very  extensively  used  —  sometimes 
rented  by  the  town,  at  other  times  furnished  by  the  master 
himself.  Ezekiel  Cheever's  first  school  in  New  Haven,  in 
1638,  was  kept  in  his  own  house.  This  is  testified  to  by 
Michael  Wigglesworth,  who  recorded  in  his  autobiography 
that  he  went  to  school  to  Mr.  Cheever  "  in  his  own  house." 
Hadley  used  a  part  of  the  Ward  house  in  1664,  and  in  1688 
hired  a  room  for  school  purposes.  Wenham  used  the  house 
of  the  master  or  the  meetinghouse  as  seemed  best.  Most  of 
the  early  schools  of  Northfield  were  kept  in  houses.  It  is 
known  that  Mr.  Wight  during  all  the  years  he  taught  used 
his  dwelling  house.  In  167 1  Salem  voted  "that  the  select- 
men shall  take  care  to  provide  a  house  for  Mr.  Epps  to  keep 
school  in,"  and  the  next  year  a  bill  was  granted  by  the  select- 
men to  pay  Daniel  Andrews  "  for  keeping  school  in  his 
house  and  mending  the  schoolhouse  that  now  is." 

The  first  school  in  Marlboro,  in  1696,  "was  kept  at 
Isaac  Wood's  house."  The  same  year  it  was  recorded  at 
Lynn,  "  And  the  town  is  to  pay  twenty-five  shillings  toward 
the  hire  of  Nathaniel  Newhall's  house  to  keep  school  in, 
and  the  said  Mr.  Normenton  to  hire  the  said  house."  At 
Beverly,  in  1686,  it  was  "agreed  by  said  town  with  Cor- 
poral David  Perkins  that  the  said  town  should  have  and  did 
hire  of  said  Perkins  one  convenient  room  or  chamber  with 
a  fire  room  in  it,  for  the  space  of  six  months  after  the  date 
hereof,  for  the  just  sum  of  los.  in  pay,  for  a  place  for  Mr. 
John  Peasly  to  teach  school  in  during  said  term,  for  the  use 
of  said  town."  Norwalk,  Connecticut,  in  1686,  authorized 
the  selectmen  "  to  hire  a  schoolmaster  and  also  to  obtain 
a  house  for  that  use  and  to  fit  it  with  conveniences  for 
schooling."    At  a  meeting  of  the  selectmen  at  Portsmouth 


SCHOOLHOUSES  247 

in  1698,  "  Mr.  Phippes,  our  schoolmaster,  informing  that 
he  has  disbursed  50s.  for  a  house  to  keep  school  in  at  the 
bank,  which  he  saith  the  town  ought  to  reimburse  him  again  ; 
agreed  that  the  case  be  referred  to  the  commissioners  that 
assisted  last  year's  account,  and  that  the  bargain  may  be  de- 
clared to  them,  with  what  is  alleged  by  Mr.  Phippes  as  to 
the  payment  of  50s.,  and  if  the  commissioners  shall  judge 
it  rational,  then  to  be  paid  by  the  town,  otherwise  not." 
Three  years  later  it  was  voted  that  two  men,  as  a  committee, 
"  do  forthwith  hire  a  house  at  the  bank  as  near  the  town 
fort  as  may  be  for  the  keeping  of  a  school  in,  for  this 
year  or  until  the  town  schoolhouse  be  fitted  up."  In  1702 
the  school  at  Maiden  was  kept  in  a  hired  dwelling  house, 
but  the  next  year  it  was  voted  "that  the  school  shall  be 
kept  in  the  watch  house  for  this  year."  It  was  kept  there 
only  a  short  time  before  it  was  voted  "  Ezekiel  Jenkins  is 
chosen  schoolmaster  for  this  present  year ;  and  the  school 
to  be  kept  at  his  own  house."  When  Woburn  obtained  a 
schoolmaster  in  1700,  "the  selectmen  hired  for  his  accom- 
modation the  house  of  George  Reid,  Jr.,  nigh  the  meeting- 
house, at  20  shillings  rent  per  annum.  This  house  was 
accordingly  fitted  up  as  a  schoolhouse  at  the  town's  expense 
and  continued  to  be  used  for  this  purpose  several  years 
afterwards."  Until  1705  all  the  schools  at  Plymouth  had 
been  kept  in  rooms  supplied  by  the  masters.  Taunton,  in 
1688,  paid  nine  shillings  for  the  "hire  of  school  house." 
Yarmouth,  in  1693,  made  an  appropriation  "for  the  hire  of 
rooms  for  the  school."  Until  17 14  all  appropriations  in  Barn- 
stable had  been  made  with  the  understanding  that  the  schools 
were  "  to  be  kept  in  each  end  of  the  town  half  a  year  in  suit- 
able rooms  provided  in  private  dwellings."  The  schools  of 
North  Brookfield  were  kept  in  dwelling  houses.  "  The  un- 
finished room  was  used  by  the  dames  in  summer,  and  the 
capacious  kitchen,  well  warmed,  was  used  by  the  masters  in 
winter."    Sutton,  New  Hampshire,  in  1732,  voted  "to  keep 


248  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

the  school  at  Esquire  Dudley's."  He  was  the  schoolmaster 
at  that  time.  The  next  year  Lunenburg  had  a  similar  con- 
dition, when  it  was  voted  "  that  the  school  shall  be  kept  at 
the  house  of  Mr.  Gardner,"  who  was  elected  schoolmaster. 

In  1736  certain  houses  for  the  schools  were  named  with 
the  proviso  that  if  they  could  not  be  obtained,  "then  such 
other  place  as  near  to  the  meeting  house  as  may  be."  The 
early  schools  at  Weymouth  were  kept  in  the  schoolmaster's 
house.  Reverend  Isaac  Braman,  born  in  Norton  in  1770, 
says :  "  The  schools  generally  were  kept  in  private  houses. 
I  once  went  to  school  in  a  carpenter's  shop  in  which  the 
work  bench  was  used  for  a  table."  Up  to  1780  Milford  used 
dwelling  houses.  One  ancient  domicile  is  thus  described  : 
"  The  school  room  was  a  rude  concern,  fitted  up  with  plank 
seats  on  blocks  and  writing  counters  supported  by  empty  bar- 
rels, with  every  thing  else  to  match."  This  was  in  1763  or 
1765.  A  later  school  was  kept  in  another  house  where  the 
accommodations  were  poorer  and  ruder  than  before  :  "  The 
house  was  small,  low  and  cramped,  all  its  doors  hung  on 
wooden  hinges.  Some  fifteen  scholars  had  scanty  room  and 
the  family  was  squeezed  into  the  closest  quarters." 

When  the  town  allowed  the  school  to  be  moved  into  the 
different  sections  a  part  of  the  agreement  usually  was  that 
the  districts  should  furnish  the  schoolrooms.  Necessarily 
these  rooms  were  rented  in  convenient  houses  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  districts,  not  of  the  towns  as  a  whole,  or  else  the 
schoolmasters  furnished  the  rooms.  At  Medfield,  in  1721, 
the  schoolmasters  in  the  north  and  south  parts  kept  school 
in  their  own  houses.  The  first  schoolmaster  at  New  Mills, 
the  east  part  of  Danvers,  "  kept  his  school  in  the  house  of 
farmer  Porter."  The  accommodations  were  very  poor.  It  is 
reported  that  "the  benches  for  writing  were  nothing  more 
than  a  board  placed  upon  two  flour  barrels."  Manchester, 
in  1738,  voted  that  the  school  should  be  kept  in  four 
quarters,  "they  in  each  part  to  provide  a  suitable  house  for 


SCHOOLHOUSES  249 

the  schoolmaster  to  keep  a  school  in  on  their  charge."  In 
1762  the  Westminster  schools  were  kept  in  four  houses. 
With  reference  to  one  of  them  it  was  voted,  "'  The  school 
shall  be  kept  at  Deacon  Holden's  house  in  case  the  house 
can  be  obtained."  In  1786  Dunstable  had  several  schools: 
"  One  school  was  held  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Ebenezer  French, 
.  .  .  the  town  paying  him  ;£"i-i4s.  for  its  use.  Another 
school  was  kept  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Thomas  Fletcher,  in 
the  northwesterly  section  of  the  town,  and  for  the  rent  of  a 
room  for  the  same  he  received  the  sum  of  8s.  from  the 
public  treasury."  The  school  in  Sanbornton,  New  Hamp- 
shire, "  was  kept  in  a  private  house  near  the  old  meeting- 
house in  1775  ;  afterwards  in  barns  and  for  some  years  in 
the  meetinghouse  before  it  was  seated."  Braintree  used 
houses  in  the  sparsely  settled  portions  of  the  town.  "'  In 
1746  the  house  of  Deacon  Penniman  was  hired  for  that 
purpose.  ...  In  1756  Widow  Abigail  Thayer  was  paid  50^ 
for  to  make  good  the  damage  done  to  her  windows  in  the 
time  when  a  school  was  kept  at  her  house."  In  1763  "a 
part  of  the  house  of  Elder  Peter  was  hired  to  keep  a  school 
in,  for  which  he  was  paid  1^1.67  by  the  town." 

The  cost  of  these  rented  rooms  was  small  and  did  not 
vary  much  from  generation  to  generation.  Raymond,  New 
Hampshire,  paid  five  shillings  for  the  use  of  one  in  1769, 
and  in  1792  the  general  rate  in  New  Hampshire  varied 
from  sixteen  shillings  to  eighteen  shillings.  Glastonbury, 
Connecticut,  in  1739,  paid  fifteen  shillings  for  the  use  of 
a  house,  and  the  next  year  one  pound.  At  Marlboro,  New 
Hampshire,  in  1800,  the  school  of  the  east  squadron  "was 
kept  at  the  house  of  Timothy  Bemis."  He  received  four 
shillings  per  week  for  the  use  of  the  house.  This  price 
being  considered  too  dear,  the  following  year  the  scholars 
were  kept  at  the  house  of  Luke  Newton,  who  charged  but 
thirty-three  cents  per  week.  The  Reverend  G.  F.  Clark,  speak- 
ing of  his  early  school  experience  at  Dublin,  New  Hampshire, 


250  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

said  :  "  On  the  extreme  borders  of  the  town,  near  where  there 
is  now  a  flourishing  village,  in  an  old  dilapidated  dwelling 
house,  with  rough  slabs  taken  from  my  grandfather's  saw- 
mill for  seats,  and  these  upheld  by  sticks  driven  into  large 
auger  holes,  with  nothing  to  support  the  feeble  backs  of  the 
feeble-minded  boys  and  girls  that  sat  thereon,  I  first  made 
my  bow  to  the  schoolmarm,"  At  Temple,  New  Hampshire, 
school  was  kept  in  one  district  for  ten  weeks  in  the  winter 
in  the  kitchen  of  a  private  house,  at  a  rent  of  three  dollars 
for  the  term.  Many  of  the  towns  then  at  the  borders  of  civi- 
lization had  "  watch  houses,"  which  were  frequently  found 
convenient  for  school  purposes.  It  was  voted  at  Newbury,  in 
1676,  "  And  if  the  number  be  about  twenty  scholars  he  is  to 
teach  them  at  the  watch  house "  ;  there  were  seventeen. 
In  1680  the  schoolmaster  was  still  keeping  school  in  the 
watch  house. 

In  1678,  the  year  before  the  schoolhouse  was  built,  Spring- 
field "  voted  and  agreed  that  the  watch  house  to  the  new 
meetinghouse  should  be  or  serve  instead  of  a  schoolhouse, 
until  such  time  as  the  town  shall  see  cause  to  order  other- 
wise." Ipswich,  in  1714,  voted  "to  have  a  children's  school 
in  the  watch  house."  Five  years  later  the  same  place  was 
used  "  to  teach  reading,  writing  and  cyphering." 

Other  buildings  were  used  at  odd  times  and  places  accord- 
ing to  the  convenience  of  the  towns,  sometimes  because  no 
schoolhouse  had  been  erected,  and  sometimes  because  it  was 
so  out  of  repair  that  it  was  uninhabitable.  In  Salem,  in 
1655,  the  school  "was  kept  in  the  town  house."  The  next 
year  a  committee  was  "  empowered  to  have  the  schoolhouse 
repaired,"  and  two  years  later  two  pounds  was  voted  "to 
Edward  Norris  so  that  he  may  have  a  chimney  built  in  his 
schoolhouse."  In  1734  it  was  voted  "that  the  school  be 
kept  the  ensuing  year  in  the  schoolhouse  or  in  the  town 
house,  which  the  schoolmaster  should  think  best."  In  1755 
it  was  again  voted  that  the  selectmen  "  have  liberty  to  part 


SCHOOLHOUSES  251 

off  a  convenient  part  of  the  town  house  and  build  a  chimney 
in  it,  so  that  the  town  be  at  no  cost  for  the  same,  but  at  the 
cost  of  private  persons,  and  be  for  the  use  of  the  school." 
In  1776,  after  a  new  town  house  was  built,  "one  of  the 
town  schools  was  long  kept  in  this  town  house."  In  1724, 
in  Ipswich,  a  schoolmaster  was  "  allowed  to  have  a  room  in 
the  almshouse  to  instruct  youth  in  reading  and  writing,"  and 
a  few  years  later,  "  Henry  Spiller  is  allowed  a  room  in  the 
almshouse  for  teaching  youth  to  read,  write  and  cypher." 
This  was  done  because  a  vote  had  been  passed  that  no 
school  should  be  kept  in  the  town  house. 

For  nearly  twenty  years  the  schools  at  Francestown,  New 
Hampshire,  were  taught  in  barns  in  the  summer,  and  no 
schools  were  maintained  during  the  winter.  Mr.  Stiles, 
speaking  of  the  schools  in  Temple,  about  1782,  said:  "At 
this  period  there  was  no  schoolhouse  in  the  north  district, 
and  scarce  in  town.  Schools  were  then  kept  in  private 
houses  and  barns,  as  they  could  be  permitted.  The  first  I 
remember  was  kept  in  a  log  shop  at  Jacob  Putnam's." 
Hampton,  New  Hampshire,  in  1801,  voted  "that  the  north 
district  shall  have  Jonathan  Sanborn's  barn  for  a  school- 
house."  At  Windham,  New  Hampshire,  schools  were  taught 
in  private  houses  and  "  sometimes  in  barns  and  shops.  The 
session  house  that  stood  near  the  meetinghouse  on  the  range 
was  used  for  school  purposes."  New  Boston,  New  Hamp- 
shire, in  1769,  "erected  a  small  building  near  the  meeting- 
house, known  as  the  session  house,  which  was  often  used  for 
schools."  At  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  in  1790,  "the 
building  erected  in  1775  .  .  .  for  a  pesthouse  was  removed 
into  the  town  street  for  a  schoolhouse." 

Boston,  in  1790,  used  Faneuil  Hall  for  school  purposes. 
A  request  was  made  that  it  might  be  used  evenings  for 
preaching,  but  it  was  voted  "  as  the  opinion  of  the  select- 
men that,  Faneuil  Hall  being  now  occupied  for  a  reading 
school,   the  preaching  there  must  be  attended  with   such 


252  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

inconvenience  to  masters  and  scholars  as  obliges  them  to 
decline  granting  said  request." 

The  session  house,  which  was  sometimes  used  for  school 
purposes,  was  a  small  building,  usually  situated  '"  between  the 
meetinghouse  and  the  town  pound,"  built  at  private  expense, 
for  the  accommodation  on  Sunday  noons  of  those  people 
who  could  not  go  home  and  return  in  time  for  the  afternoon 
service.  It  was  placed  on  town  land  by  vote  of  the  town,  and 
so  could  be  used  for  public  service  in  time  of  need.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a  description  of  one  built  in  Mendon  in  1709  :  "  It 
consisted  of  one  room  with  a  large  hearth  in  the  center,  and  a 
square  hole  in  the  roof,  immediately  over  the  hearth.  When 
the  weather  required  it,  a  fire  of  charcoal  was  kindled  upon  the 
hearth  in  the  morning,  and  the  baskets  and  pails  containing 
the  dinners  were  arranged  upon  its  outer  edge.  At  noon  the 
room  would  be  found  warm  and  comfortable  and  the  occupants, 
having  eaten  their  frugal  meal,  returned  to  the  meetinghouse 
to  partake  of  the  spiritual  food  furnished  by  the  afternoon 
service." 

The  early  schoolhouses  were  small,  low,  poorly  built 
structures  of  a  low  cost,  in  which  the  materials  of  the  old 
meetinghouse  were  often  utilized.  No  better  idea  of  these 
buildings  can  be  obtained  than  by  reading  some  of  the  early 
contracts.  For  this  purpose  several  are  given  in  full,  selected 
to  show  how  little  time  and  place  affected  the  New  England 
schoolhouse. 

The  following  records  give  an  account  of  the  first  Spring- 
field schoolhouse.  "  At  a  town  meeting,  being  a  legal  meet- 
ing. May  7th,  1679,  it  was  voted  and  concluded,  ist,  that 
there  should  be  an  house  erected  for  that  noble  design  and 
use  of  learning  the  youth  in  those  so  necessary  pieces  or 
parts  of  learning,  videl.,  reading  and  writing ;  and  2ndly, 
that  the  house  should  be  twenty  and  two  feet  in  length  and 
eighteen  feet  in  breadth ;  and  3rdly,  that  the  selectmen 
should  be  appointed  or  be  trusted  to  agree  with  any  meet 


SCHOOLHOUSES  253 

person  or  persons  to  frame  this  said  building,  and  when  the 
town  shall  have  deliberated  and  determined  where  to  set  it, 
viz.,  the  schoolhouse,  the  same  appointed  persons  are  like- 
wise to  finish  it  or  fit  it  for  school  use."  Later  "'  it  was  voted 
and  concluded  that  the  schoolhouse  shall  be  set  somewhere 
in  the  land  going  to  the  upper  wharf,  the  selectmen  to  agree 
about  and  determine  the  particular  place."  On  the  second 
of  June  the  selectmen  voted,  "  It  having  been  formerly  at  a 
town  meeting  propounded  to  the  town  that  they  should  set 
up  a  schoolhouse  for  the  town,  they  concluded  that  such  a 
schoolhouse  should  be  erected,  and  appointed  the  selectmen 
to  bargain  with  any  meet  person  to  build  such  a  house  for 
such  use ;  —  accordingly  they  have  bargained  with  Thomas 
Stebbins,  Jr.,  to  get  timber  for  such  a  building,  and  frame 
it,  whose  length  is  to  be  22  feet  and  breadth  17  feet  and 
stud  8  feet  half ;  and  he,  the  said  Thomas  Stebbins  is  to 
carry  the  frame,  to  place  and  to  nail  the  clapboards  close 
on  both  sides  and  ends,  and  to  lath  and  shingle  the  roof, 
and  to  make  three  light  spaces  on  one  side  and  two  lights 
on  one  end,  and  to  set  up  a  mantle  tree  and  set  up  a  rung 
chimney  and  to  daub  it,  and  the  said  Thomas  is  to  have  for 
his  work  so  done  ;^I4  paid  him  by  the  town,  and  in  case 
it  so  prove  that  the  said  Thomas  have  an  hard  bargain,  it 
is  hereby  agreed  that  he  shall  have  los.  more  of  the  town." 
Dedham,  in  1693,  "agreed  with  John  Baker  of  Dedham 
to  build  one  new  schoolhouse  for  the  use  of  the  town  of 
Dedham,  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  old  house,  and  to 
put  in  none  of  the  old  timber  into  the  house  but  such  as 
shall  be  approved  of  by  the  selectmen,  and  that  the  said 
John  Baker  shall  find  all  the  timber,  boards,  clapboards, 
shingles,  nails,  and  to  board  the  inside  of  the  house,  or  to 
fill  the  walls,  and  to  make  it  warm  and  decent  according  to 
a  schoolhouse,  and  to  make  the  windows  as  extensive  as  the 
old  schoolhouse  was,  and  find  the  glass,  also  sufl^icient  doors 
and  to  build  one  sufficient  stone  chimney,  the  top  of  it  being 


254  B:ARLY  new  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

wrought  out  of  the  house  with  good  bricks,  and  to  cover 
every  groundsell  with  board  or  clapboard,  and  to  bore  every 
mortis  hole  in  the  groundsell  through,  and  to  find  everything 
that  do  belong  to  outside  and  the  inside  whatever,  to  the 
finding  of  the  key,  and  all  this  work  to  be  done  by  the  last 
of  October  ensuing."  He  was  to  be  paid  sixteen  pounds  ten 
shillings  ;  twenty  shillings  in  money,  the  rest  in  com.  "  The 
old  schoolhouse  is  to  remain  to  be  the  said  John  Baker's." 

In  1702  Sudbury  voted  "that  the  schoolhouse  that  shall 
be  built  by  the  town  shall  be  set  and  erected  as  near  the 
center  of  the  town  as  may  be  conveniently  set  upon  the 
town's  land";  also,  "that  it  be  twenty  feet  in  length, 
eighteen  feet  in  breadth,  seven  feet  from  the  bottom  of 
the  sill  to  the  top  of  the  place,  a  large  chimney,  to  be  within 
the  house,  the  house  to  be  a  log  house  made  of  pine,  only  the 
sills  to  be  of  white  oak,  to  be  covered  with  board  and  shingles. 
Also  the  chimney  to  be  of  stone  to  the  mortling  and  finished 
with  brick.  This  was  passed  into  an  act  and  vote."  Later  it 
was  voted  to  build  two  of  these  of  the  same  dimensions,  and 
twenty  pounds  was  rated  to  pay  for  them.  In  171 1  another 
house  was  voted  :  "  The  schoolhouse  to  be  20  feet  long, 
16  feet  wide,  6  feet  stud  .  .  . ;  the  sills  to  be  white  oak,  the 
outside  to  be  boarded  and  the  boards  to  be  feather  edge. 
The  inside  to  be  birch  and  to  be  boarded  with  rough  boards, 
low6r  and  upper  floors  to  be  board,  and  a  brick  chimney 
and  two  glass  windows  18  inches  square  per  window,  and 
the  roof  to  be  boarded  and  shingled." 

In  1704  Boston  "  agreed  with  Mr.  John  Barnet  as  foUow- 
eth,  he  to  build  a  new  schoolhouse  of  40  feet  long,  25  feet 
wide,  and  1 1  feet  stud,  with  eight  windows  below  and  five 
in  the  roof,  with  wooden  casements  to  the  eight  windows, 
to  lay  the  lower  floor  with  sleepers  and  double  boards  so 
far  as  needful,  and  the  chamber  floor  with  single  boards, 
to  board  below  the  plate  inside,  and  inside  and  out,  to  clap- 
board the  outside  and  shingle  the  roof,  to  make  a  place  to 


SCHOOLHOUSES  255 

hang  the  bell  in,  to  make  a  pair  of  stairs  up  to  the  chamber, 
and  from  thence  a  ladder  to  the  bell,  to  make  one  door  next 
the  street,  and  a  partition  cross  the  house  below,  and  to  make 
three  rows  of  benches  for  the  boys  on  each  side  the  room, 
to  find  all  the  timber,  boards,  clapboards,  shingles,  nails, 
hinges.  In  consideration  whereof,  the  said  Mr.  John  Barnet 
is  to  be  paid  ;£ioo,  and  to  have  the  timber,  boards  and  iron 
work  of  the  old  schoolhouse." 

In  171 2  Maiden  '"  voted  that  the  schoolhouse  shall  be  built 
20  feet  in  length,  16  feet  wide,  6  feet  stud  between  joints," 
and  thirty-five  pounds  were  appropriated. 

'^Contract:  Articles  of  agreement  made  and  concluded 
between  the  selectmen  of  Maiden  and  William  Green  of 
the  said  town,  carpenter,  referring  to  the  building  of  a 
schoolhouse  for  the  said  town  of  Maiden.  The  dimensions 
and  conditions  are  as  followeth  :  viz..  That  the  said  William 
Green  doth  covenant  and  agree  with  the  said  selectmen  to 
build  a  house  to  keep  school  in  for  the  town  of  Maiden  ; 
the  dimensions  are  as  followeth,  viz.,  twenty  feet  in  length 
and  sixteen  feet  in  breadth,  six  feet  between  joints,  and 
build  a  chimney  in  said  house  near  seven  feet  between  the 
jambs,  and  lay  a  hearth  in  said  chimney,  and  cover  said 
house  tight  with  boards,  roof  and  sides,  and  shingling  the 
roof  of  said  house  and  to  lay  the  floor,  and  to  make  it  with 
crooked  beams  rising  two  feet  at  the  least,  for  the  roof  four 
beams  and  ribbed  upon  said  beams  as  may  be  sufficient,  and 
brick  the  walls  to  the  plates,  and  make  two  windows,  one  on 
the  south  and  the  other  on  the  east,  and  make  the  door  of 
plain  boards.  Said  house  being  studded  about  three  feet 
asunder,  and  to  find  all  for  said  house  so  far  as  has  been 
mentioned,  and  to  set  it  where  the  town  shall  agree,  and 
to  underpin  said  house.  And  the  abOvesaid  selectmen  do 
promise  and  agree  in  behalf  of  the  town  of  Maiden  to  pay 
or  cause  to  be  paid  unto  the  above  said  William  Green  £,\() 
for  the  above  said  work,  and  wherewith  all  to  do  the  same, 


2  56     EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

as  foUoweth  ;  jCs  and  12  shillings  in  boards,  and  the  re- 
mainder in  money  as  the  work  shall  go  forward.  And  said 
work  to  be  done  forthwith  by  the  20th  of  April  next.  The 
work  is  to  be  completed  as  the  season  will  allow,  which 
articles  and  agreements  to  be  performed  by  both  parties 
in  witness,  etc." 

Marlboro,  New  Hampshire,  in  1807,  voted  a  new  school- 
house.  It  was  put  up  at  auction  and  bid  in  for  one  hundred 
seventy  dollars  and  the  old  schoolhouse.  This  is  the  contract : 
"It  is  to  be  26  feet  long  and  24  feet  wide,  9  feet  and  one 
half  posts,  six  windows,  24  lights,  and  each  six  by  eight 
glass,  two  rows  of  gallery  seats  on  three  sides  of  the  house, 
with  one  small  seat  in  the  front,  with  an  alley  in  the  center 
of  the  seats.  And  it  is  to  be  arched  or  crowning  overhead, 
9  inches ;  it  is  to  have  four  feet  entry  way ;  the  floor  to 
be  laid  with  two  inch  plank ;  the  walls  of  the  house  to  be 
ceiled  as  high  as  the  bottom  of  the  windows ;  with  a  good 
brick  chimney  laid  in  lime,  and  is  to  be  two  feet  and  one  half 
on  the  back  of  the  fireplace,  and  to  be  plastered  overhead 
and  the  walls  down  as  low  as  the  bottom  of  the  windows. 
The  entry  way  is  to  be  ceiled  and  plastered  overhead ;  the 
closet  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  chimney  is  to  be  ceiled 
and  plastered  overhead  with  shelves  convenient.  The  out- 
side of  the  house  to  be  enclosed  with  a  square  roof  and  well 
shingled,  and  the  body  of  the  house  is  to  be  clapboarded  and 
painted  with  Spanish  brown,  and  trimmed  with  white  lead 
paint,  and  to  be  underpinned  with  split  stone,  and  a  good 
doorstone,  also  window  shutters  to  each  window,  with  a  lock 
and  key  on  the  front  door.  There  is  to  be  a  writing  desk, 
and  the  hearth  is  to  be  laid  with  stone." 

Shorter  descriptions  will  sufficiently  show  some  of  the 
schoolhouses  in  the  more  important  towns.  In  1682  one 
was  built  in  Charlestown,  "  twelve  feet  square  and  eight  feet 
stud  within  joints,  with  a  flattish  roof  and  a  turret  on  it  for 
the  bell,  and  likewise  a  mantel  tree  of  twelve  feet  long." 


SCHOOLHOUSES  257 

The  carpenter's  work  cost  thirteen  pounds.  The  masons 
were  "to  build  up  chimneys  and  underpin  the  house  and 
to  ceil  the  walls  with  clay  and  brick,  and  to  point  the  roof 
with  lime."  This  cost  five  pounds.  Deerfield  voted  "  that 
a  schoolhouse  be  built  upon  the  town  charge  in  the  year 
1698,  the  dimensions  of  said  house  to  be  21  feet  long, 
18  feet  wide  and  7  feet  between  joints."  In  1739  it  was 
"  voted  that  there  shall  be  a  schoolhouse  built  in  the  spring. 
That  it  be  built  near  the  old  place,  the  lower  floor  one  foot 
below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  the  upper  floor  to  be  made 
with  clay,  the  dimensions  of  the  house  to  be  sixteen  feet 
the  one  way,  twenty-five  feet  the  other,  three  windows  on  the 
south  side,  one  at  each  end,  two  small  chimneys  on  the  north 
side,  with  iron  mantelpieces";  and  again  in  1760  it  was 
"  voted  to  build  a  new  schoolhouse  of  the  dimensions  of 
22  feet  square,  7  feet  stud,  to  be  doubly  boarded  on  the 
outside,  the  wall  filled  in,  and  light  ceiled,  and  double 
floored  below."  In  two  generations  schools  of  almost  the 
same  type  were  duplicated,  and  they  were  reduplicated  for 
the  next  three. 

Londonderry,  in  1724,  voted  "  that  there  shall  be  a  school- 
house  built  in  this  town ;  the  dimensions  of  said  house  to  be 
16  feet  long,  and.  12  feet  in  the  width,  said  house  is  to  be 
a  log  house,  7  foot  side  wall,"  and  they  were  to  build  "  two 
fireplaces  in  one  end  as  large  as  the  house  will  allow." 
-^  These  early  schoolhouses  were  unattractive  carpenter's 
boxes,  squares  or  rectangles,  no  larger  than  immediate 
necessities  demanded,  from  six  to  nine  feet  high,  a  type 
from  which  New  England  is  not  yet  wholly  emancipated. 
To  indicate  how  little  change  there  was  in  this  type  I  give 
the  dimensions  of  some.  One  of  the  smallest  buildings  I 
have  found  is  the  one  built  in  Gloucester  in  1708,  "length 
24  feet,  width  10  feet,  height  of  stud  6  feet."  The  total 
cost  was  twenty-four  pounds  fifteen  shillings.  One  of  the 
largest  was  built  in  Newport,  New  Hampshire,  in  1772,  but 


2  58      EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

perhaps  here  the  church  idea  prevailed  over  the  school.  It 
was  "  voted  to  build  a  house  thirty  by  twenty  feet,  ...  for 
public  use,  to  be  improved  as  a  schoolhouse  and  for  religious 
worship."  Northampton,  in  1755,  also  built  a  singularly 
large  schoolhouse.  For  five  years  the  town  had  been  trying 
to  build  a  new  schoolhouse  in  the  center  of  the  town  ;  it  had 
been  voted  and  rescinded.  Finally  a  committee  recommended 
that  one  be  built  "'  large  enough  to  accommodate  the  gram- 
mar •  school  and  the  writing  arid  reading  scholars  in  all 
seasons  of  the  year,"  and  one  of  brick  was  built  thirty-six 
feet  by  eighteen  feet. 

Twenty-five  feet  by  twenty  feet  seems  to  have  been  a 
rather  common  size,  and  a  building  of  these  dimensions  was 
considered  large  enough  to  hold  sixty  pupils. 

These  schoolhouses  were  badly  neglected,  and  as  they 
were  generally  built  carelessly  and  in  haste  they  were  soon 
in  need  of  repairs.  The  voters  by  no  means  relished  paying 
out  money  for  such  purposes.  Often  several  years  were 
consumed  in  getting  a  schoolhouse  built  after  the  town  had 
authorized  its  erection,  and  repairs  were  made  with  equal 
slowness.  The  records  are  full  of  complaints  from  the 
masters,  the  most  vigorous  of  which,  perhaps,  is  that  of 
Thomas  Bernard  of  the  Roxbury  school  in  168 1.  "Of 
inconveniencies  I  shall  instance  no  other  than  that  of  the 
schoolhouse,  the  confused  and  shattered  and  nasty  posture 
that  it  is  in,*  not  fitting  for  to  reside  in  ;  the  glass  broken, 
and  thereupon  very  raw  and  cold ;  the  floor  very  much 
broken  and  torn  up  to  kindle  fires ;  the  hearth  spoiled ;  the 
seats,  some  burnt  and  others  out  of  kilter,  so  that  one  had 
as  well  nigh  as  good  keep  school  in  a  hog-sty  as  in  it." 

The  location  of  the  schoolhouse  also  gave  rise  to  inter- 
minable wranglings.  The  "  outskirts "  objected  to  having 
the  "'  center  "  monopolize  the  school,  while  the  people  living 
near  the  "  center  "  were  full  of  projects  for  getting  it  placed 
near  their   own   dwellings.    The   question   was   sometimes 


SCHOOLHOUSES  259 

settled  by  voting  to  locate  it  in  the  geographical  center  of 
the  town  or  district.  Occasionally  this  method  had  queer 
results.  In  a  rather  recent  case  this  geographical  center  was 
found  to  be  in  a  frog  pond.  Sometimes,  when  land  could 
not  be  purchased  reasonably,  the  schoolhouse  was  placed 
partially,  or  even  wholly,  in  the  highway,  as  in  Longmeadow 
in  1 79 1  and  in  Hartford  in  1798. 

Burton's  "  The  District  School  as  it  was "  contains  a 
vivid  picture  of  the  quarrels  of  the  good  old  times,  quarrels 
repeated  at  the  present  time  when  a  new  school  building 
is  proposed.  "  The  old  school  house  stood  on  the  top  of 
a  very  high  hill,  on  the  north  side  of  what  was  called  the 
County  Road.  The  house  of  Capt.  Clark,  about  ten  rods 
off,  was  the  only  human  dwelling  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 
The  reason  why  this  seminary  of  letters  was  perched  so  high 
in  the  air,  and  so  far  from  the  homes  of  those  who  resorted 
to  it,  was  this  ;  here  was  the  center  of  the  district,  as  near 
as  surveyor's  chain  could  designate.  The  people  east  would 
not  permit  the  building  to  be  carried  one  rod  further  west, 
and  those  of  the  opposite  quarter  were  as  obstinate  on  their 
side.  So  here  it  was  placed,  and  this  continued  to  be  literally 
the  '  hill  of  science  '  to  generation  after  generation  of  learners 
for  fifty  years." 

After  this  long  service  it  became  necessary  to  build 
another,  and  the  quarrel  became  acute.  "  At  every  meeting 
on  school  affairs  that  has  been  held  for  several  years  the 
question  of  a  new  schoolhouse  has  been  discussed.  All 
agree  on  the  urgent  need  of  one,  and  all  are  willing  to 
contribute  their  portion  of  the  wherewith  ;  but  when  they 
attempt  to  decide  on  its  location,  then  their  harmonious 
action  is  at  an  end.  All  know  that  this  high  bleak  hill,  the 
coldest  spot  within  a  mile,  is  not  the  place.  It  would  be 
stupid  folly  to  put  it  there.  At  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  either 
side  is  as  snug  and  pleasant  a  spot  as  need  be.  But  the 
East-enders  will  not  permit  its  location  on  the  opposite  side. 


26o  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

and  the  West-enders  are  as  obstinate  on  their  part.  Each 
division  declares  that  it  will  secede  and  form  a  separate  dis- 
trict should  it  be  carried  farther  off,  although  in  this  case 
they  must  put  up  with  much  cheaper  teachers,  or  much  less 
schooling,  or  submit  to  twice  the  taxes." 

It  was  finally  discovered  that  by  building  a  short  piece  of 
new  road  around  the  hill  the  schoolhouse  could  be  put  in  a 
pleasant  spot  and  still  be  equidistant  from  the  two  sections. 
There  it  was  placed,  and  peace  was  restored.  Unfortunately 
this  simple  method  is  not  always  available. 


X 

HEATING  AND  THE  SCHOOL  WOOD  TAX 

In  these  days  of  state  inspection  to  see  that  all  school- 
houses  are  properly  heated  and  ventilated,  it  is  interesting 
to  note  how  the  olden  schoolhouse  was  heated — there  was 
no  question  as  to  ventilation.  Like  the  dwellings,  the  school- 
houses  were  warmed  by  huge  fireplaces,  sometimes  one, 
sometimes  two.  For  one  hundred  years  this  was  the  only 
means  of  heating  in  any  place,  and  the  only  means  in  most 
places  for  one  hundred  fifty  years.  The  earliest  note  of  any- 
thing different  is  found  in  a  Boston  record  of  1735  when 
"Mr.  Sarell  lodged  with  the  town  clerk  Mr.  Treasurer 
Wadsworth's  receipt  for  ;^8,  for  an  old  stove  lately  belong- 
ing to  Mr.  Proctor's  school,  which  was  sold."  In  1742 
Mr.  Lovell,  master  of  the  South  Grammar  School,  informed 
the  selectmen  '"  that  the  stove  belonging  to  the  school  wants 
repairing,"  and  in  1765  it  was  agreed  to  buy  him  a  new  one. 
In  1778  Brookline  voted  "that  the  town  will  purchase  an 
iron  stove  for  the  grammar  schoolhouse  to  lessen  the  ex- 
pense of  fuel."  As  will  be  seen  later  this  was  about  the 
time  when  towns  began  to  furnish  fuel  at  their  own  expense. 
The  enormous  cost  of  fireplaces,  added  to  the  fact  that  the 
Franklin  stove  had  been  on  the  market  for  a  generation, 
compelled  the  fireplace  to  give  way  to  more  economical  ways 
of  heating.  In  1791  Medford  voted  "  to  purchase  a  Franklin 
or  Rittenhouse  stove  for  the  schoolhouse,  and  the  committee 
that  provides  a  schoolmaster  and  wood  be  desired  to  pro- 
cure it."  Northampton  bought  two  stoves  for  the  center 
schoolhouse  in  1796.  Reading  put  a  stove  into  the  school- 
house  in  1793,  and  Newton,  in  1796,  voted  "  that  five  stoves 
be  provided  to  warm  the  schoolhouse." 

261 


262  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Hingham  recorded  several  votes  relative  to  heating.  In 
1799  it  was  voted  "to  have  one  stove  in  one  of  the  school- 
houses  and  the  selectmen  procure  it "  ;  in  1800  it  was  voted 
"that  the  article  which  respects  procuring  stoves  for  the 
schools  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  school  committee  "  ; 
and  in  1806  it  was  voted  "that  the  selectmen  and  school 
committee  be  a  committee  to  look  into  the  expediency  of  re- 
moving the  stoves  in  the  schoolhouses  and  report  at  April 
meeting."  This  committee  recommended  "  the  use  of  dry, 
hard  wood  and  the  use  of  an  iron  dish  of  water  on  the  stoves, 
and  would  further  recommend  to  the  instructors  to  pay  atten- 
tion to  their  fires  in  stoves  and  see  they  are  not  kindled  too 
early  in  the  morning,  and  admit  of  fresh  air  from  the  upper 
sashes  of  the  windows."  Evidently  stoves  in  the  schoolhouses 
produced  the  same  complaints  that  were  made  when  they  were 
introduced  into  meetinghouses  —  that  they  burned  up  the 
air  and  people  could  not  breathe.  It  is  related  that  when 
the  stove  replaced  the  fireplace  in  the  school  at  Woodstock, 
the  master  built  a  frame  about  it  to  keep  the  children  from 
getting  burnt.  How  it  compared  with  the  comforts  of  the 
fireplace  may  be  inferred  from  this  account,  given  by  the 
Reverend  Warren  Burton  in  an  account  of  his  school  days : 
"  I  had  trials  by  fire  in  addition.  Every  cold  afternoon,  the 
old  fire-place,  wide  and  deep,  was  kept  a  roaring  furnace  of 
flame,  for  the  benefit  of  blue  noses,  chattering  jaws,  and 
aching  toes,  in  the  more  distant  regions.  The  end  of  my 
seat,  just  opposite  the  chimney,  was  oozy  with  melted  pitch, 
and  sometimes  almost  smoked  with  combustion.  Judge,  then, 
of  what  living  flesh  had  to  bear.    It  was  a  toil  to  exist." 

In  1800  Worcester  built  eight  new  schoolhouses  and  put  in 
stoves  at  eleven  dollars  and  sixty-seven  cents  each.  In  some 
places  the  brick  stove  intervened  between  the  fireplace  and 
the  iron  stove.  This  was  true  of  Salisbury  in  1801,  and  it 
was  also  true  of  Temple,  New  Hampshire,  in  18 12,  when 
it  was  voted  to  build  a  stove  in  the  schoolhouse.   This  was 


HEATING  AND  THE  SCHOOL  WOOD  TAX     263 

bid  in  by  John  Patten,  "  to  be  done  in  a  workmanlike  man- 
ner "  for  six  dollars  and  fifty  cents.  Probably  this  was  of  the 
Russian  type.  The  same  year  Medford  enlarged  the  old  brick 
schoolhouse  and  voted  "  to  build  a  Russian  stove  so  as  to 
accommodate  both  rooms." 

The  Up  Neck  district  of  Hartford,  in  18 13,  appointed  a 
committee  "  to  enquire  and  report  to  an  adjourned  meeting 
the  expenses  of  a  stove  and  chimney  as  proposed  by  them  at 
the  meeting."  Later  it  was  voted  "  that  there  be  a  chimney 
built  to  receive  the  stove  pipe  ;  that  there  be  a  Franklin  stove 
and  pipe  erected  in  the  said  schoolhouse  this  ensuing  fall." 
The  stove  was  not  bought  until  18 15  and  cost  thirty-six 
dollars  and  forty-two  cents.  In  1832  it  was  again  voted 
"that  the  committee  exchange  the  now  present  stove  at 
the  schoolhouse  and  get  a  box  stove  that  is  suitable  for  a 
schoolhouse," 

Fires  and  all  janitor  service  were  attended  to  by  the  school- 
master or  the  boys.  It  is  related  that  at  Torrington,  Connec- 
ticut, "  when  school  was  out  at  night  the  boys  were  required  to 
bring  in  snow  and  make  a  snow  bank  around  each  fireplace 
so  that  the  fire  should  not  roll  out  on  the  floor  and  set  the 
house  on  fire,"  This  was  in  1790.  In  1796  the  following 
recommendation  was  made  at  Northampton :  "  That  the 
present  and  all  future  selectmen  make  it  an  indispensable 
condition  with  the  preceptors  who  are  or  may  be  improved 
in  the  several  schools  that  they  shall  every  night  see  that 
the  fires  in  their  respective  schools  be  wholly  extinguished, 
and  that  no  preceptor  be  improved  who  will  not  so  engage 
so  to  do,  and  practise,  and  that  in  default  thereof  they  be 
dismissed,  and  that  each  school  be  furnished  with  a  pail," 
and  the  selectmen  were  authorized  to  "  contract  with  some 
person  living  near  the  center  schoolhouse  and  a  person  living 
near  the  schoolhouse  in  Lickingwater,  whose  duty  it  shall  be 
to  take  care  of  the  buildings  and  see  that  the  preceptors  obey 
the  orders  of  the  town  respecting  fires." 


264  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Edward  Everett  gave  this  description  of  the  Boston  Latin 
School  in  1805  :  '"  It  contained  but  one  room,  heated  in  the 
winter  by  an  iron  stove,  which  sent  up  a  funnel  into  a  curious 
brick  chimney  built  down  from  the  roof  into  the  middle  of 
the  room  to  within  seven  or  eight  feet  from  the  floor,  being 
Uke  Mahomet's  coffin,  held  in  the  air  to  the  roof,  I  hardly 
know  how,  perhaps  by  bars  of  iron.  The  boys  had  to  take 
their  turns  in  winter  in  coming  early  to  the  schoolhouse,  to 
open  it,  to  make  a  fire,  sometimes  of  wet  logs  and  a  very 
inadequate  supply  of  other  combustibles,  if  such  they  might 
be  called ;  to  sweep  out  the  room  and,  if  need  be,  to  shovel 
a  path  through  the  snow  to  the  street." 

Fireplaces  and  stoves  alike  consumed  enormous  quantities 
of  wood,  the  only  fuel  of  those  days,  and  this  wood  was  very 
generally  levied  as  a  separate  tax  on  the  parents  of  the 
children  who  attended  the  school.  Like  the  country  boy  in 
Ireland  who  in  winter  must  furnish  every  Monday  morning 
his  sod  of  turf  for  the  schoolhouse  fire  or  suffer  the  conse- 
quences, these  children  of  the  olden  times  paid  penalties  for 
a  short  supply  of  fuel.  Town  records  show  that  while  there 
were  some  variations  the  general  statement  holds  good  —  that 
for  one  hundred  fifty  years  fuel  was  not  furnished  by  the 
towns  and  that  some  form  of  punishment  was  inflicted,  not 
on  the  parents  but  on  the  children,  for  any  neglect  to  keep 
the  fire  burning. 

For  the  grammar  school  in  Roxbury,  in  1679,  "it  is 
ordered  that  parents,  masters  and  guardians  for  the  several 
children  coming  to  the  school,  whether  inhabitants  or 
strangers,  shall  in  the  month  of  October  or  November,  pay 
to  the  schoolmaster  four  shillings  per  child  coming  to  school, 
or  bring  half  a  cord  of  good  merchantable  wood,  except  such 
as  for  poverty  or  otherwise,  shall  be  acquitted  by  the  feoffees." 
In  1735  it  was  "eight  shillings  or  two  feet  of  good  wood, 
and  in  case  they  do  neither,  the  master  is  hereby  ordered  to 
suffer  no  such  children  to  have  the  benefit  of  the  fire."  Poor 


HEATING  AND  THE  SCHOOL  WOOD  TAX     265 

children  were  still  excepted.  The  assessments  for  "  fire 
money"  were  in  force  even  as  late  as  1805,  and  neglect 
was  punished  by  the  masters'  being  requested  "'  not  to  in- 
struct such  children."  One  of  the  earliest  school  com- 
mittees was  at  Deerfield  in  1 700 ;  it  was  their  duty  to  hire 
the  schoolmaster,  repair  the  schoolhouse,  and  "  to  propor- 
tion the  providing  of  firewood  to  the  scholars."  In  1722 
schooling  was  free  in  this  town,  "  the  scholars  being  only 
required  to  furnish  firewood."  In  1771  "it  was  provided 
that  each  scholar  should  furnish  one  load  of  wood,  and  in 
default  thereof  to  be  turned  out  of  school." 

At  Braintree,  in  1679,  it  was  agreed  'Hhat  every  child 
should  carry  in  to  the  schoolmaster  half  a  cord  of  wood  be- 
sides the  quarter  money  every  year."  In  171 3  it  was  reduced 
to  three  feet.  There  are  indications  that  this  wood  tax  was 
not  cheerfully  paid,  for  in  17 10  it  was  voted  "that  Mr. 
Adams,  the  present  schoolmaster,  be  empowered  to  demand 
a  load  of  wood  of  each  boy  that  comes  to  school  this  winter." 

Wood  troubles  in  Northampton  are  told  more  in  detail. 
In  1699  it  was  voted  "that  all  and  every  scholar  bring  one 
load  of  wood  though  they  go  but  two  months,  that  is,  two 
months  from  the  beginning  of  October  to  the  first  of  April." 
The  fine  for  neglect  to  comply  with  this  requirement  was 
four  shillings.  But  this  was  inoperative,  for  it  is  recorded 
"  that  many  that  sent  their  children  to  school  were  negligent 
in  bringing  of  wood,  for  want  whereof  the  school  ofttimes 
was  omitted."  The  next  year  the  selectmen  "  w^ere  ordered 
to  prosecute  all  who  were  delinquent  in  furnishing  wood." 
This  too  failed  to  solve  the  difficulty,  and  in  1706  another 
attempt  was  made  by  framing  a  by-law  "  ordering  every 
person  who  had  children  at  school  from  the  26th  of  October 
to  the  26th  of  April  to  bring  a  sufficient  load  of  wood  for 
each  pupil  during  the  first  week  after  entering  the  school, 
or  forfeit  six  shillings.  The  selectmen  were  to  name  the 
day  when  the  wood  should  be  delivered,  and  the  fine  was 


266  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

to  be  paid  within  six  days  of  the  time,  or  the  selectmen 
were  to  bring  suit  against  the  delinquents."  It  was  found 
necessary  to  act  again  in  the  matter  in  1746,  when  it  was 
ordered  that  every  parent  "sending  a  boy  to  school  must 
follow  him  within  ten  days  with  a  load  of  wood  or  pay  a  fine 
of  five  shillings."  In  1793,  one  year  after  girls  had  been 
admitted  to  school,  the  selectmen  were  "  requested  to  see 
that  the  girls  provide  themselves  with  wood  when  at  the 
master's  school."  At  another  meeting,  the  schoolmasters 
were  directed  "  to  order  the  scholars  that  go  to  the  new 
schoolhouse  to  bring  in  one  quarter  of  a  load  of  wood  each, 
or  IS.  6d.  in  money  to  be  used  in  the  purchase  of  fuel." 

A  quaint  record  on  the  flyleaf  of  one  of  Newbury's  town 
books  shows  the  workings  of  this  method  of  supplying 
wood.  It  was  written  in  171 1  by  Mr.  Richard  Brown,  an 
ex-schoolmaster  and  ex-townclerk.  It  is  a  complaint  of  his 
treatment  by  the  town,  of  which  this  is  a  part :  "If  to  find 
a  house  for  the  school  two  years  when  the  town  had  none, 
if  to  take  the  scholars  to  my  own  fire  when  there  was  no 
wood  at  school,  as  frequently,  deserves  acknowledgments, 
then  it  is  my  due,  but  hard  to  come  by," 

In  the  selectmen's  record  of  1670  at  Watertown  is  found 
a  complaint  made  by  Mr.  Richard  Norcross,  schoolmaster, 
"  that  the  schooling  of  children  is  like  to  be  hindered  for 
want  of  wood  to  keep  a  fire,"  and  the  record  goes  on  to 
state,  "  For  the  preventing  of  such  an  inconvenience,  the 
school  being  the  town's,  it  is  ordered  by  the  selectmen, 
therefore,  that  the  inhabitants  that  send  their  children  to 
the  school  shall  send  in  for  every  scholar  a  quarter  of  a 
cord  of  wood  by  the  15th  day  of  this  instant  December,  or 
two  shillings  in  money  to  buy  wood  withal,"  In  167 1  this 
penalty  was  added  :  "Or  else  they  shall  have  no  benefit  of 
the  school,  as  a  free  school,  till  the  first  of  April,  next."  In 
1700  parents  were  required  "to  send  one  quarter  of  a  cord 
of  wood  in  the  winter." 


HEATING  AND  THE  SCHOOL  WOOD  TAX     267 

In  1 66 1  Hartford  voted  "each  scholar  that  comes  to 
school  is  either  to  send  a  load  of  wood  within  a  month  after 
Michaelmas  or  else  it  is  conceded  they  shall  pay  3s.  for  the 
procuring  the  wood."  Later  the  record  reads :  "  Whereas 
some  people  have  neglected  to  send  wood  to  the  school  for 
their  children,  voted  that  every  person  who  shall  send  their 
children  or  servants  to  the  said  school,  shall,  from  the  first 
day  of  November  to  the  last  day  of  March,  be  obliged  to 
carry  one  load  of  wood  for  each  child  to  the  schoolhouse 
within  one  fortnight  after  their  children  or  servants  shall  go 
to  school,  within  the  said  town.  Any  person  neglecting  or 
refusing  to  carry  wood  as  aforesaid  shall  pay  the  sum  of  5  s., 
money,  for  each  child,  to  the  committee  of  the  said  school, 
for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  said  school,  to  be  recovered 
by  execution  from  any  one  assistant  or  Justice  of  Peace." 
Springfield,  in  1706,  required  a  load  of  wood  to  be  sent  to 
the  schoolhouse  for  each  child  taught. 

In  1708  it  was  "voted  and  ordered  that  whatsoever 
persons  shall  send  children  to  school  in  the  wintertime, 
that  they  provide  for  each  scholar  one  load  of  wood  by  that 
time  the  scholar  or  child  has  been  at  school  two  weeks,  or 
that  such  persons  as  neglect  to  bring  their  load  of  wood  as 
aforesaid,  shall  pay  to  the  town  rate  so  much  as  shall  satisfy 
any  other  person  or  persons  that  shall  bring  to  the  school  a 
load  of  wood  for  their  scholar  or  scholars,  and  the  selectmen 
manage  this  affair  from  time  to  time  yearly."  In  17 17  it 
was  voted  "  that  every  person  that  doth  send  any  scholar  to 
school  from  the  fifteenth  of  October  to  the  last  of  March 
and  neglects  to  send  a  load  of  wood  within  eight  or  ten 
days  after  such  scholar  is  sent,  that  then  there  shall  be  four 
shillings  added  to  such  person's  town  rate,  and  it  was  also 
voted  that  said  vote  be  presented  to  Sessions  for  confirma- 
tion." Five  years  later  it  was  again  voted  "  that  every  one 
that  sendeth  scholars  to  school  shall  bring  a  load  of  wood 
for  each  scholar  that  they  shall  send,  and  that  the  wood  shall 


268  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

be  brought  to  the  schoolhouse  by  the  middle  of  October,  and 
that  no  scholar  shall  have  any  benefit  of  the  wood  but  only 
those  that  have  a  right  to,  or  part  of  the  wood,  until  they 
bring  their  proportion  with  the  rest,  and  that  the  selectmen 
give  instructions  unto  the  schoolmasters  so  to  do ;  this  vote 
to  respect  all  the  schools  respectively." 

At  New  Milford,  Connecticut,  it  was  agreed  "  that  the 
scholars  shall  find  themselves  wood  by  an  equal  proportion." 
In  1702  the  Rowley  schoolmaster  received  twenty  pounds  and 
found  the  wood.  In  17 16  he  received  sixteen  pounds  "and 
found  no  wood."  In  1737  Mendon  parents  sent  wood  when 
they  sent  the  children.  Wallingford,  in  1720,  voted  "that 
every  scholar  that  enters  the  school  between  the  20th  of 
September  and  the  last  of  April  shall  each  bring  half  a  load 
of  wood  and  if  they  fail,  then  they  shall  pay  a  fine  of  6d, 
to  be  looked  out  for  by  the  committee."  Marlboro,  New 
Hampshire,  in  1797,  voted  "that  those  people  that  send 
children  to  school  shall  procure  wood  to  supply  the  school." 
The  general  custorn  prevailed  that  "  every  man  should  bring 
two  feet  of  wood  for  each  scholar  that  he  sent  to  school," 
and  that  "  every  man  should  chop  his  own  wood  that  he 
brings  to  the  schoolhouse." 

As  late  as  1825  the  Hartford  Up-Neck  district  passed  this 
vote,  "That  each  scholar  furnish  ten  feet  of  seasoned  hard 
wood,  or  green  walnut,  or  white  ash,  to  be  inspected  by  the 
master."  In  1829  it  was  eleven  feet  of  wood  or  "40^  in 
money,"  and  it  was  required  "  that  each  scholar  deliver  his 
wood  or  money  when  they  commence  the  school." 

Penalties  accompanied  the  wood  tax  in  many  places. 
There  was  some  variation,  but  the  general  tendency  always 
was  to  deprive  the  children  of  their  schooling. 

In  Beverly,  in  1749,  "any  person  refusing  to  pay  for 
his  proportion  of  fuel  was  to  be  punished  by  his  children 
or  servants  being  denied  the  privilege  of  warming  them- 
selves by  the  schoolhouse  fire." 


HEATING  AND  THE  SCHOOL  WOOD  TAX     269 

An  old  man,  formerly  a  resident  of  Oxford,  wrote  to  a 
friend,  "  I  should  like  to  see  those  old  hills  again,  especially 
old  Camp  hill,  for  close  by  there  I  attended  school  five  or 
six  months  and  was  sent  home  because  I  had  no  wood  to 
warm  by." 

The  Cambridge  town  meeting  of  1748  voted  "that  the 
grammar  schoolmaster  in  this  town  be  desired  and  is  hereby 
empowered  to  make  a  tax  on  every  school  boy  not  exceeding 
six  shillings,  old  tenor,  from  time  to  time,  as  there  shall  be 
occasion  to  purchase  wood  for  the  use  of  said  grammar 
school."  Delinquents  were  excluded  from  school.  Guilford, 
Connecticut,  in  1685,  "ordered  that  whosoever  shall  not 
bring  a  sufficient  load  of  wood  to  the  schoolhouse  within  two 
weeks  after  their  child  or  children  begin  to  go  to  school,  shall 
pay  for  their  neglect  therein,  three  shillings  for  every  load." 

Dorchester,  in  1645,  established  certain  rules  for  the 
school  wardens,  of  which  this  was  the  sixth  :  "  The  said 
wardens  shall  take  care  that  every  year  at  or  before  the  end 
of  the  9th  month,  there  be  brought  to  the  schoolhouse  twelve 
sufficient  cart  or  wain  loads  of  wood  for  fuel,  to  be  for  the 
use  of  the  schoolmaster  and  the  scholars  in  winter,  the  cost 
and  charge  of  which  said  wood  to  be  borne  by  the  scholars 
for  the  time  being,  who  shall  be  taxed  for  that  purpose  at  the 
discretion  of  the  said  wardens."  That  this  tax  was  not  com- 
plied with  is  shown  by  this  part  of  an  agreement  made  with 
Mr.  Isaac  Wiswall :  "And  also  provided  the  schoolhouse, 
from  time  to  time,  be  kept  in  good  order  and  comfortable 
for  a  man  to  abide  in  both  in  summer  and  in  winter,  by  pro- 
viding fire  seasonably,  so  that  it  may  neither  be  prejudicial  to 
master  nor  scholar."  In  1668  another  attempt  was  made  to 
regulate  the  tax,  for  at  a  selectmen's  meeting  it  was  ordered 
"  in  respect  of  the  school,  that  those  that  send  their  children 
to  school  shall  the  winter  time  bring  for  each  child  a  load 
of  wood  or  half  a  cord  of  cord  wood,  and  those  that  bring 
it  in  log  wood  are  to  cut  it  after  it  comes  to  the  schoolhouse, 


270  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

and  for  those  boys  that  go  but  part  of  the  winter,  we  leave 
it  to  the  master's  discretion  to  appoint  the  proportion  for 
such."  In  1694  the  quantity  had  been  changed  so  that  each 
child  must  provide  "two  feet  of  wood  or  two  shillings  and 
six  pence  money,  to  be  delivered  to  the  schoolmaster  within 
one  month  after  the  29th  of  September,  annually,  or  the 
child  to  have  no  privilege  of  the  fire."  Similar  rules  were 
passed  for  the  next  forty  years. 

Cohasset,  in  1770,  voted  "that  every  child  that  cometh 
to  the  reading  and  writing  school  till  wood  is  wanted  shall 
bring  to  said  school  a  foot  of  wood  or  one  shilling  and  six 
pence  in  money  to  the  schoolmaster  to  purchase  wood ;  and 
that  the  schoolmaster  take  a  list  of  the  names  of  those 
children  that  come  to  school  as  aforesaid,  and  return  their 
names  and  to  whom  they  belong  to  the  assessors  that  shall 
be  chosen  the  next  March  meeting,  and  the  assessors,  when 
they  make  the  district  rate,  add  to  the  said  rate  what  those 
persons  are  behind  towards  wood,  and  for  want  of  wood,  the 
committee  draw  money  out  of  the  treasury  to  purchase  it." 

As  is  indicated  in  some  of  the  above  votes,  there  was  a 
choice  of  wood  or  money.  This  was  a  quite  general  provision, 
as  may  be  judged  from  the  following  records. 

Milton  recorded  in  1768  :  "  School  wood  to  be  found  in 
the  following  manner ;  each  scholar  at  his  or  her  entering, 
one  foot  of  wood  or  one  shilling  and  four  pence  lawful 
money,  in  cash,  between  the  first  of  November  and  the 
last  of  April." 

In  Bristol,  in  1729,  "the  schoolmaster  was  instructed  to 
receive  from  each  scholar  four  shillings  in  money  or  its 
value  in  fire  wood." 

Salem,  in  171 3,  directed  every  "scholar  that  goes  in  the 
winter  to  find  three  feet  of  wood,  or  to  pay  their  masters 
four  shillings  six  pence  in  money,  to  purchase  wood  withal." 

In  Boston  the  wood  tax  became  one  of  the  master's  per- 
quisites.   In  1 74 1  Mr.  John  Proctor,  master  of  the  North 


HEATING  AND  THE  SCHOOL  WOOD  TAX     271 

Writing  School,  was  called  before  the  selectmen  on  a  com- 
plaint of  "  insisting  on  large  demands  for  firing  and  entry 
money."  He  replied  that  "  he  had  not  more  than  five 
shillings  apiece,  one  with  another,  some  paying  and  some 
not  paying."  Being  asked  if  he  would  allow  his  ushers 
"  having  some  part  with  him  in  his  perquisites,  especially 
that  of  fire  wood,  he  utterly  refused  it."  This  led  to  a  vote 
ten  years  later  "  that  the  selectmen  for  the  time  being  give 
directions  to  the  said  masters,  what  money  they  may  receive 
from  the  scholars,  for  defraying  the  expense  of  firing "  ; 
and  when  two  years  later  Samuel  Holbrook  was  appointed 
master  of  the  school  in  Queen  Street,  with  salary  and  per- 
quisites, the  fire  money  was  excepted.  The  ultimate  result 
was  that  wood  was  soon  furnished  by  the  town.  In  1789 
each  school  was  allowed  from  two  to  eight  cords,  and  the 
next  year  all  schools  received  seven  cords  each,  except  one 
which  received  four  cords. 

All  school  conditions  in  the  colonies  changed  very  slowly ; 
the  wood  tax  was  no  exception.  There  is  an  early  record  in 
Dedham  which  may  be  interpreted  to  mean  that  the  experi- 
ment of  supplying  firewood  was  tried.  In  1661,  after  voting 
the  schoolmaster  his  usual  salary,  this  was  added :  "  More- 
over that  wood  for  the  fire  be  laid  in  at  the  schoolhouse,  a 
hatchet  and  bellows."  In  the  light  of  future  votes,  however, 
it  seems  fair  to  assume  that  this  wood,  though  supplied  by  the 
town,  was  taxed  in  some  way  on  the  pupils.  In  1674  when 
it  was  announced  that  a  schoolmaster  had  been  appointed, 
notice  was  also  given  "to  bring  in  wood."  It  was  not 
furnished  by  the  town  regularly  until  1758.  Dorchester 
provided  its  school  with  wood  at  public  expense  in  1732. 
Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  in  1737,  voted  "that  the 
selectmen  provide  wood  for  the  school  at  the  bank,  at  the 
town's  expense."  Duxbury,  in  1765,  voted  "to  give  Major 
Arnold  ^^2-13  for  to  find  and  provide  the  town  school 
with  fire  wood  for  the  year  ensuing."    Newton  voted,  in 


272  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

1763,  "to  have  four  districts  and  four  schools  and  all  pro- 
vided with  wood."  Medford,  in  1776,  voted  "to  purchase 
wood  for  the  use  of  the  school  at  the  expense  of  the  town." 
In  1749  Chelsea  voted  "to  supply  the  school  with  half  a 
cord  of  cut  wood."  Many  similar  votes  follow,  indicating 
that  the  town  always  found  wood  for  the  schools.  It  was 
one  of  the  earliest  towns  to  do  this. 

In  the  town  warrant  for  Weston,  in  1759,  is  this  article: 
"  To  know  the  minds  of  the  town  whether  they  will  pro- 
vide the  wood  for  the  schools  at  a  rate  for  the  future." 
Voted  "  in  the  negative."  No  change  was  made  until  1777, 
when  a  petition  was  presented  to  see  "  if  the  town  will  pro- 
vide wood  for  the  schools  by  a  rate,  and  if  so,  grant  money 
therefor,"  This  time  the  petition  was  granted  and  twenty 
pounds  was  voted  with  which  to  purchase  wood. 

Sudbury,  in  1774,  had  an  article  in  the  warrant,  "to  see 
if  it  will  order  that  the  several  schoolhouses  in  said  town 
shall  be  supplied  with  wood  for  the  future  at  the  charge  of 
the  town,  agreeable  to  the  petition  of  Jacob  Reed  and  others." 
The  record  says,  "  Passed  in  the  negative  "  ;  but  the  peti- 
tion was  repeated  the  next  year,  and  the  town  voted  eight 
pounds  for  wood.  The  same  sum  was  granted  for  several 
years  in  succession. 

In  Hingham  it  was  not  until  1791  that  "wood  was  pro- 
vided for  by  general  tax.  Up  to  this  time,  each  scholar  had 
been  required  to  furnish  his  share  of  firewood."  In  1792 
Quincy  voted  "  that  the  school  be  supplied  with  wood." 

During  the  days  of  the  moving  school,  people  in  the  outer 
districts  were  obliged  to  furnish  room  as  well  as  wood. 
Hardwick,  in  1785,  voted  to  have  the  grammar  school  in 
four  parts  of  the  town,  "on  condition  of  their  finding  a 
suitable  room  and  firewood  for  said  ischool  free  of  cost  from 
the  town."  Bedford  at  about  the  same  period  compelled  the 
people  in  the  districts  to  furnish  house  and  wood  free  of 
expense  to  the  town  at  large.   They  made  this  additional 


HEATING  AND  THE  SCHOOL  WOOD  TAX     273 

provision,  that  children  could  follow  the  school  from  one 
quarter  to  another  by  providing  their  share  of  the  firewood. 
Brookline,  in  1747,  allowed  two  men  living  outside  the  town 
to  send  their  children  to  the  Brookline  school,  "  they  pro- 
viding their  proportion  of  wood." 

To  induce  children  living  out  of  the  center  to  come  in  to 
the  central  school,  Lexington  at  one  time  provided  '"  that  all 
who  lived  within  a  certain  distance  of  the  schoolhouse  on  the 
Common  should  furnish  all  the  fuel  necessary  for  the  school, 
free  of  expense,  while  those  who  lived  more  remote  should 
be  exempt  altogether." 

There  are  some  curious  votes  on  the  wood  question  which 
cannot  be  grouped  under  any  general  topic.  In  Rowley,  in 
1702,  the  schoolmaster  "received  from  the  town  J[,20  and 
was  to  find  the  wood."  The  same  terms  were  made  for 
several  years.  At  Wallingford,  Connecticut,  in  1680,  Elijah 
Preston  agreed  to  teach  the  children  for  ten  pounds,  "  he 
to  find  his  room  and  the  scholars'  wood."  In  some  New 
Hampshire  towns  the  wood  was  put  up  at  auction  and  struck 
off  to  the  lowest  bidder.  At  Industry,  Maine,  in  1808,  "  wood 
was  furnished  by  private  subscription."  At  Bath  the  teacher 
boarded  round,  and  "  wood  was  furnished  by  the  several 
families  while  they  boarded  the  master."  Glastonbury, 
Connecticut,  perhaps  furnishes  as  interesting  a  series  of 
votes  as  any  town.  In  1717  the  record  reads:  "All  boys 
between  6  and  1 1 ,  except  those  living  beyond  a  certain  dis- 
tance, to  pay  whether  they  go  to  school  or  not,  and  one  load 
of  wood  to  be  carried  for  a  scholar,  or  three  shillings  to  be 
paid"  ;  in  1723,  "wood  to  be  furnished  by  committee  and 
paid  for  by  scholars  "  ;  in  1733,  "  load  of  wood  to  be  brought 
for  each  scholar";  in  1753,  "wood  levied  on  children's 
heads  "  ;  in  1765,  "  heads  of  scholars  to  find  firewood  "  ;  in 
1766,  "  wood  to  be  laid  on  children's  polls  "  ;  in  1773,  "  wood 
to  be  got  by  the  heads  that  go  to  school  "  ;  in  1775,  "  wood 
to  be  laid  on  the  heads  of  the  children  in  each  district." 


274  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Altogether,  the  struggle  to  supply  the  necessary  fuel  so 
that  it  should  be  a  tax  on  those  people  having  children 
or  on  those  children  who  actually  attended  school  during 
the  winter  months,  extending  as  it  does  over  nearly  five 
generations,  and  embracing  a  commodity  which  certainly 
could  not  be  cornered,  presents  a  very  interesting  problem 
in  colonial  economy. 


XI 

THE  EARLY  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS 

To  what  extent  girls  were  admitted  to  the  early  schools  is 
a  somewhat  debatable  question.  Facts  are  meager  on  which 
to  base  conclusions,  and  those  that  are  available  are  conflict- 
ing. Laws  and  town  votes  are  indefinite ;  or  where  votes 
seem  definite,  results  under  the  votes  are  not  recorded.  Judd, 
in  his  history  of  Hadley,  says  :  "  The  laws  of  the  colony  and 
the  votes  of  the  towns  relating  to  schools  used  the  word 
children  and  did  not  exclude  females,  yet  it  is  abundantly 
evident  that  girls  did  not  ordinarily  continue  to  attend  the 
town  schools  many  years  in  the  old  towns." 

The  earliest  record  in  which  girls  are  mentioned  is  that  of 
the  school  in  Dorchester  when  it  was  begun  in  1639.  It  was 
then  left  "to  the  discretion  of  the  elders  and  the  seven  men 
whether  maids  shall  be  taught  with  the  boys  or  not."  His- 
tory shows  adverse  action.  About  1670  the  selectmen  bound 
out  a  child  twenty  weeks  old.  A  part  of  the  agreement  reads  : 
"Also  when  it  shall  be  capable,  to  teach  or  cause  it  to  be 
taught  profitably  the  English  tongue,  and  also  to  teach  and 
instruct  her  in  the  principles  of  Christian  religion,  and  in 
such  housewifely  employment  of  spinning  and  knitting  as 
she  may  be  capable  of  to  learn."  The  whole  tenor  of  this 
agreement  points  towards  family  teaching  or  the  dame 
school,  certainly  not  to  a  town  school. 

The  second  record  is  that  of  Hampton,  New  Hampshire, 
in  1649,  when  in  its  agreement  with  the  schoolmaster,  John 
Legat,  the  town  stipulated  that  he  should  "  teach  the  chil- 
dren of  or  belonging  to  the  town,  both  male  and  female, 

275 


276  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

which  are  capable  of  learning,  to  write  and  read  and  cast 
accounts."  But  there  is  nothing  in  the  later  records  to  show 
that  this  agreement  was  carried  out. 

Watertown,  in  1650,  agreed  with  Richard  Norcross :  "  As 
also  if  any  of  the  said  town  have  any  maiden  that  have  a 
desire  to  learn  to  write,  that  the  said  Richard  should  attend 
them  for  the  learning  of  them ;  as  also  that  he  teach  such  as 
desire  to  cast  accounts."  In  1670  two  men  were  appointed 
"  to  speak  with  William  Knox  about  the  education  of  his 
daughter,  and  to  make  return  how  they  find  it  as  to  her 
education."  This  daughter  seems  to  have  been  in  the 
family  of  one  Thomas  Smith.  Summoned  before  the  select- 
men he  ""  did  acknowledge  that  the  child  had  not  been  so 
well  attended  in  the  matter  of  learning  as  she  should  have 
been ;  did  promise  that  he  would  be  more  careful  for  the 
time  to  come,  that  she  should  be  learned  in  the  knowledge 
of  reading  the  English  tongue."  There  is  nothing  in  either 
of  these  circumstances  to  show  that  Watertown  admitted  girls 
to  its  public  school.  The  first  was  an  arrangement  for  private 
instruction  for  the  rare  ambitious  maiden ;  in  the  second 
instruction  was  easily  obtained  at  the  dame  school. 

Dedham,  in  1652,  proposed  to  establish  a  school  for  seven 
years,  to  be  supported  by  "  all  such  inhabitants  in  our  town 
as  have  male  children  or  servants  betwixt  the  age  of  four  and 
fourteen  years."  Among  other  propositions  to  be  submitted 
to  the  town  was  this :  "  Whether  the  town  require  that 
girls  should  be  taught  in  this  school  or  not."  There  is  no 
recorded  answer. 

Deerfield,  in  1698,  agreed  to  have  a  school,  and  then 
voted  "'  that  all  heads  of  families  that  have  children,  whether 
male  or  female,  between  the  ages  of  six  and  ten  years,  shall 
pay  by  the  poll  to  said  school,  whether  they  send  such  chil- 
dren or  not"  ;  and  in  1703  the  town  voted  "that  all  chil- 
dren, that  is  to  say,  boys  from  four  to  eight  and  girls  from 
four  to  six  years  old,  that  live  in  the  town  plat,  shall  pay 


THE  EARLY  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  277 

their  proportion  of  ;^io  for  the  year  ensuing,  whether  they 
go  to  school  or  not."  There  is  no  other  record  for  seventeen 
years  as  the  town  was  in  hard  straits  financially. 

In  Rehoboth,  in  1699,  the  selectmen  agreed  with  Mr. 
Robert  Dickson  to  keep  school  six  months,  "  he  engaging 
to  do  his  utmost  endeavor  to  teach  both  sexes  of  boys  and 
girls  to  read  English  and  write  and  cast  accounts." 

It  is  claimed  that  "a  few  girls  were  sent  to  the  public 
schools  of  Northampton  and  Hatfield  before  1680,"  but 
only  for  a  short  time.  Of  Hatfield  it  is  stated  that  "from 
1695  to  1699,  none  are  found  upon  the  lists.  In  1700, 
during  the  winter  term,  four  girls  and  forty-two  boys  were 
in  attendance ;  in  1 709  there  were  sixteen  girls  in  a  class 
of  sixty-four."  Of  Whately  it  is  claimed  '"  no  one  remembers 
the  time  when  girls  did  not  commonly  attend  school  and 
pursue  the  same  studies  as  boys." 

Farmington,  Connecticut,  gives  something  more  definite. 
In  1687  twenty  pounds  were  voted  "  for  the  maintenance  of 
a  school  for  the  year  ensuing,  for  the  instruction  of  all  such 
children  as  shall  be  sent  to  it,  to  learn  to  read  and  write 
the  English  tongue."  There  seems  to  have  been  some  ques- 
tion raised,  for  the  next  year  the  town  passed  this  vote : 
"  Whereas  the  town  at  a  meeting  held  Dec,  1687,  agreed 
to  give  ;!^20  as  is  there  expressed,  to  teach  all  such  as 
shall  be  sent,  the  town  declare  that  all  such  is  to  be  under- 
stood only  male  children  that  are  through  their  horn  book." 
The  general  practice  of  most  towns  probably  interpreted  the 
"all  such  children  "  in  the  same  manner  as  was  here  settled 
by  definite  vote.  While  laws  and  town  votes  seem  inclu- 
sive, the  interpretation  was  exclusive  —  girls  were  generally 
barred  out.  , 

The  Hopkins  Grammar  School  of  New  Haven,  in  1680, 
had  this  rule  :  "  That  all  girls  be  excluded  as  improper  and 
inconsistent  with  such  a  grammar  school  as  the  law  enjoins 
and  is  the  design  of  this  settlement." 


278  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Manchester,  in  1724,  had  a  free  school  "which  is  for  all 
sexes  for  reading  and  writing  English,  and  for  cyphering, 
that  belong  to  the  town  of  Manchester."  The  same  year 
Framingham  engaged  a  schoolmaster,  "'  in  case  he  can  com- 
ply with  their  custom,  viz.,  to  teach  any  small  children  of 
either  sex  that  may  be  sent  to  him." 

Meriden,  Connecticut,  in  1678,  voted  the  schoolmaster  a 
stated  sum  for  the  year  and  "  three  pence  a  week  for  all 
scholars,  male  or  female,  from  six  to  sixteen,  as  long  as  they 
shall  go  to  school."  But  Norwalk,  in  1701,  voted  "that  all 
children  from  the  age  of  five  years  old  to  the  1  age  of  twelve 
shall  all  pay  an  equal  proportion,  excepting  the  females,"  and 
all  Hadley  votes  with  reference  to  the  schools  in  the  i68o's, 
fixing  tuition  rates,  specially  mention  males.  This  indicates 
that  girls  were  not  admitted.  t 

The  legal  idea  of  the  proper  education  for  girls  is  found 
in  two  decisions  of  the  Hartford  court.  In  1655  it  ordered 
the  administrators  of  Thomas  Gridley's  estate  to  "educate 
the  children,  learning  the  sons  to  read  and  write,  and  the 
daughters  to  read  and  sew  well "  ;  and  in  1656  in  inter- 
preting the  will  of  Thomas  Thomson  relative  to  the  educa- 
tion of  his  children,  it  decided  "  that  the  sons  shall  have 
learning  to  write  plainly  and  read  distinctly  in  the  Bible, 
and  the  daughters  to  read  and  sew  sufficiently  for  the 
making  of  their  ordinary  linen."  These  decisions  seem  to 
indicate  that  girls  were  expected  to  get  their  entire  education 
at  the  dame  school  or  at  home,  and  not  at  the  public  school. 

Here  are  a  few  votes  making  girls  eligible  to  the  public 
schools,  and  fewer  cases  of  implied  permission  ;  they  are  all 
the  gleanings  from  the  records  of  nearly  two  hundred  towns. 
They  show  that  such  education  was  not  general,  in  fact  not 
seriously  considered  in  any  town  deliberations.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  is  considerable  evidence  to  show  that  girls  were 
not  admitted  to  most  schools  until  well  towards  the  close  of 
the  eighteenth  century. 


THE  EARLY  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  279 

Benjamin  Mudge  of  Lynn,  in  a  memorandum,  says  :  "  In 
all  my  school  days,  which  ended  in  1801,  I  never  saw  but 
three  females  in  public  schools,  and  they  were  there  only  in 
the  afternoon  to  learn  to  write."  Girls  are  not  spoken  of  in 
Lynn  school  reports  until  18 17. 

Boston  did  not  consider  girls  until  1789,  when  these  votes 
were  passed  :  "  That  there  shall  be  one  writing  school  at  the 
south  part  of  the  town,  one  at  the  center,  and  one  at  the 
north  part,  that  in  these  schools  the  children  of  both  sexes 
shall  be  taught  writing  and  also  arithmetic  in  'the  various 
branches  of  it  usually  taught  in  the  town  schools,  including 
vulgar  and  decimal  fractions. 

"That  there  be  one  reading  school  in  the  south  part  of 
the  town,  one  at  the  center,  and  one  at  the  north  part ;  that 
in  these  schools  the  children  of  both  sexes  be  taught  to  spell, 
accent,  and  read  both  prose  and  verse,  and  also  be  instructed 
in  English  grammar  and  composition." 

But  the  girls  were  admitted  for  only  half  the  year,  from 
April  to  October.  They  were  not  allowed  in  school  all  the 
year  round  until  1828.  In  1790  in  all  the  schools  there 
were  seven  hundred  sixty-two  boys  and  five  hundred  thirty- 
nine  girls.  In  1794,  speaking  of  the  existing  schools,  the 
remark  was  made,  "  These  are  all. free  schools,  supported  by 
the  town,  and  youth  of  both  sexes  are  admitted  at  different 
hours  of  the  day." 

Previous  to  1789  the  girls  had  been  educated  at  private 
schools  established  by  permission  of  the  selectmen,  of  which 
the  following  are  samples:  [1784]  "Mr.  Caleb  Bingham 
approbated  by  the  selectmen  to  keep  a  private  school  for  the 
instruction  of  young  ladies  in  the  useful  branches  of  reading, 
writing,"  &c. 

[1786]  "Mr.  Matthew  Simpson,  upon  his  application,  is 
permitted  by  the  selectmen  to  keep  a  school  in  this  town  for 
the  instruction  of  youth  of  both  sexes  in  writing,  arithmetic, 
and  mathematics." 


28o  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

A  writer  gives  a  good  description  of  this  new  educational 
movement : 

"  The  new  plan  was  to  institute  three  new  schools  to  be 
called  reading  schools,  in  which  reading,  spelling,  grammar 
and  perhaps  geography  should  be  taught  by  masters  to  be 
appointed ;  the  two  old  writing  schools  to  be  continued  and 
a  new  one  established ;  and  one  of  the  Latin  schools  to  be 
abolished.  As  no  new  rooms  were  prepared,  temporary  ones 
were  hired,  so  that  the  same  pupils  attended  a  writing  school 
in  one  building  one  half  the  day,  and  a  reading  school  in  a 
different  building  at  a  considerable  distance  and  under  a 
different  and  independent  teacher,  the  other  half.  Each 
reading  school  had  its  corresponding  writing  school,  and 
while  the  boys  were  in  one  school,  the  girls  were  in  the 
other,  alternating  forenoon  and  afternoon,  and  changing  the 
half  day  once  a  month  because,  Thursday  and  Saturday  after- 
noons being  vacation,  this  arrangement  was  necessary  to 
equalize  the  lessons  taught  in  the  separate  schools.  .  .  .  Even 
when  the  town  built  new  schoolhouses,  the  upper  room  was 
devoted  to  the  reading  school  and  the  lower  to  the  writing, 
the  masters  never  changing  rooms,  and  the  boys  and  girls 
alternating  as  before." 

Medford  voted  in  1766  that  the  committee  "have  power 
to  agree  with  their  schoolmaster  to  instruct  girls  two  hours 
in  a  day  after  the  boys  are  dismissed,"  The  master  was  paid 
a  salary  for  six  months,  "  part  of  which  time  he  schooled  the 
girls  as  well  as  the  boys."  It  was  not  until  1787  that  the 
town  again  voted  on  the  question,  requesting  "  that  the  com- 
mittee that  provides  a  schoolmaster  be  desired  to  see  what 
he  will  ask  to  keep  the  girls  one  hour  in  the  forenoon  and 
one  hour  in  the  afternoon,  for  four  months,  and  report  at  the 
May  meeting."  Three  years  later  a  committee  was  instructed 
to  inquire  "  if  it  be  expedient  for  girls  to  attend  the  master's 
school."  The  report  was  favorable,  and  the  next  town  meet- 
ing voted   "'  that  girls  have  liberty  to  attend  the  master's 


THE  EARLY  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  281 

school  the  three  summer  months."  In  1794  there  were  the 
following  votes  :  '"  That  in  the  future  each  sex  attend  school 
at  different  hours  " ;  "  That  the  females  attend  school  from  the 
first  of  May  to  the  first  of  October."  The  school  day  was 
made  eight  hours  long,  "said  time  to  be  divided  equally  be- 
tween the  sexes."  In  spite  of  this  seeming  growth  toward 
the  education  of  the  girls,  it  was  not  until  1834  that  it  was 
voted  "  that  the  school  committee  be  directed  so  to  arrange 
the  town  schools  that  the  girls  may  enjoy  equal  privileges 
therein  with  the  boys  throughout  the  year." 

At  Plymouth,  in  1793,  a  committee  "was  chosen  to  con- 
sider the  subject  of  a  female  school,  and  their  report  in  its 
favor,  after  a  prolonged  discussion  and  violent  opposition  in 
town  meeting,  was  adopted.  One  opponent  of  the  scheme 
lamented  the  prospect  of  this  departure  from  long  estab- 
lished methods,  declaring  that  the  world  would  come  to  a 
pretty  pass,  as  he  termed  it,  when  wives  and  daughters  would 
look  over  the  shoulders  of  their  husbands  and  fathers  and 
offer  to  correct  as  they  wrote  such  errors  in  spelling  as  they 
might  commit."  The  town  appropriated  one  hundred  fifteen 
pounds,  fifteen  of  which  were  for  the  support  of  the  female 
school.  "  This  female  school  was  kept  by  the  teacher  of  the 
grammar  school,  for  six  months  in  the  year,  one  hour  in  the 
forenoon  and  one  in  the  afternoon  at  the  close  of  the  regular 
daily  session."  In  1795  a  girls'  school  was  established,  "to  be 
kept  in  the  summer  months  at  intervals  of  the  town  school," 

At  Hingham,  in  1761,  it  was  voted  "to  build  a  school- 
house  on  their  land  near  the  north  schoolhouse,  to  be  used  for 
keeping  a  female  school."  In  1791  it  was  voted,  "There 
shall  be  five  female  schools  for  six  months."  The  branches 
taught  were  "  reading,  spelling,  writing,  and  needle  work." 
About  1800  it  was  decided  "that  girls  of  twelve  years  of 
age  and  upwards  might  attend  certain  of  the  male  schools 
in  the  winter  months,  and  boys  under  nine  might  attend 
certain  female  schools  in  the  summer  months." 


282  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Of  the  Haverhill  school  regulations  for  1 790,  the  eleventh 
reads  :  "  That  from  May  to  September  one  hour  in  the  fore- 
noon and  the  same  in  the  afternoon  be  specially  appropriated 
for  the  instruction  of  the  young  misses  or  females ;  that  of 
consequence  the  common  school  be  dismissed  daily  for  such 
a  period  at  1 1  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  and  a  like  hour  in  the 
afternoon,  to  give  time  for  that  purpose." 

It  is  claimed  that  in  Gloucester,  in  1 707,  instruction  for  girls 
included  reading,  knitting,  and  sewing.  This  was  probably 
not  at  public  expense,  for  in  1758  the  Reverend  Jacob  Baily, 
afterwards  an  Episcopal  minister,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  says  : 
'"  My  school  continues  to  increase  and  I  have  already  between 
twenty  and  thirty  misses  who  come  to  school,  dressed  in  sacks 
and  ruffles.  They  make  a  very  pretty  appearance.  We  con- 
clude at  evening  by  singing  one  of  Dr.  Watts'  hymns,  or 
else  his  Sapphic  ode,  and  the  house  is  built  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired  in  the  melody  and  the 
order  and  decency  which  attends  it."  This  was  a  select 
private  school  for  girls,  of  the  kind  so  common  throughout 
New  England  at  this  period.  It  proves  that  the  town  was 
not  doing  much  for  the  girls  in  the  town  schools.  The 
school  report  of  the  town  for  1790  makes  this  recommen- 
dation :  "  And  also  that  the  master  be  directed  to  begin  his 
school  from  the  first  day  of  April  to  the  last  day  of  Sep- 
tember at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  close  at  six  in 
the  afternoon,  or  eight  hours  in  the  twenty-four  as  shall  be 
thought  most  convenient,  and  that  two  hours,  or  a  propor- 
tionable part  of  the  time,  be  devoted  to  the  instruction  of 
females,  ...  as  they  are  a  tender  and  interesting  branch  of 
the  community,  but  have  been  much  neglected  in  the  public 
schools  in  this  town."  This  was  accepted,  and  the  next  re- 
port, in  complimenting  the  master,  says,  "'  Particularly  the 
supernumerary  hours  he  spent  in  teaching  the  females  was 
greatly  beneficial  to  this  amiable  part  of  the  community, 
greatly  pleasing  to  the  parents,  and  well  improved  by  their 


THE  EARLY  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  283 

daughters."  But  the  master  petitioned  the  tovvn  for  extra 
pay  for  these  extra  hours;  it  was  granted  reluctantly. 

Until  1784  Dorchester  did  not  give  much  attention  to  the 
education  of  girls,  and  denied  them  the  same  privileges  that 
were  allowed  the  boys.  In  that  year  the  town  voted  "  that 
such  girls  as  can  read  in  a  Psalter  be  allowed  to  go  to  the 
grammar  school  from  the  first  day  of  June  to  the  first  day  of 
October."  Before  this  time  the  girls  had  received  only  that 
form  of  education  which  their  parents  had  considered  neces- 
sary for  them ;  this  was  principally  learning  the  Assembly 
Catechism.  "  On  one  afternoon  each  year,  girls  were  ad- 
mitted to  the  public  school  at  the  general  catechising  and 
they  were  expected  to  answer  at  least  two  questions.  It  is 
said  that  the  master  took  pains  to  propound  the  most  diffi- 
cult questions  to  the  girls,  in  order  that  the  benefits  the  boys 
received  from  his  instruction  might  be  more  apparent.  There 
had  been  what  were  known  as  dame  schools  where  the  girls 
were  taught  reading  and  spelling,  sewing  and  embroidering, 
and  taught  to  make  samplers ;  but  writing,  arithmetic,  gram- 
mar, and  geography  were  branches  of  learning  which  were 
considered  entirely  unnecessary  to  the  female  mind."  In 
1792  it  was  voted  that  "the  grammar  schools  be  opened 
for  girls  six  months  in  the  summer."  But  later  it  was  de- 
cided "  to  have  one  grammar  school  near  the  meeting  house, 
and  that  no  girls  be  allowed  to  go  to  it."  In  1797  the  town 
established  four  schools  for  girls,  "to  be  kept  during  the 
summer  season  "  ;  but  for  the  two  schools  kept  during  the 
entire  year,  girls  were  to  go  "at  different  hours  as  the  select- 
men shall  determine."' 

Portsmouth's  first  school  for  girls  was  a  private  one,  as  in 
most  towns ;  it  was  kept  by  a  Mr.  Dearborn.  Mrs.  William 
Brewster,  one  of  the  pupils,  left  some  recollections  of  it : 
"  Mr.  Dearborn  taught  the  first  school  in  Portsmouth  for 
misses,  in  a  large  room  in  his  own  dwelling  house.  The 
scholars  brought  the  Spectator  and  the  Guardian  and  such 


284  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

books  as  they  had  until  suitable  books  for  reading  could  be 
procured  from  Boston.  Mr.  Dearborn  wanted  to  get  up  a 
class  in  grammar,  but  could  only  prevail  upon  six  scholars  to 
join.  Many  persons  thought  it  an  unnecessary  branch  for 
misses  to  attend  to.  The  grammars  were  obtained  from  Bos- 
ton." The  first  public  day  school  for  girls  was  established  by 
the  town  in  1784.  "For  one  hundred  and  sixty  years  the 
town  had  not  regarded  the  education  of  females  of  sufficient 
public  interest  to  make  up  any  appropriation  for  public  schools 
for  them.  Those  who  were  able  sent  their  girls  to  private 
teachers ;  those  who  were  not,  gave  only  home  instruction. 
. . .  The  place  selected  for  the  schoolroom  was  the  large  cham- 
ber of  Mr.  Grouard's  house  and  hat  store. . .  .  The  house  was 
old,  of  two  stories,  and  faced  the  south."  Girls  from  eight 
years  up  were  admitted.  The  first  teacher  was  good,  and 
remained  a  year ;  the  second  teacher  failed  to  keep  up  the 
interest  of  the  pupils,  and  the  school  was  soon  abandoned. 
"  At  the  end  of  six  months  the  school  was  given  up,  and  so 
far  as  we  can  learn,  for  the  succeeding  thirty  years  until 
181 5,  there  was  no  public  provision  for  any  regular  school 
for  the  education  of  females,  if  we  except  the  opportunity 
offered  them  in  the  summer  months  of  attending  in  the 
boys'  schoolrooms  two  hours  a  day,  from  six  to  seven  in  the 
morning,  and  from  five  to  six  in  the  afternoon,  on  four  days 
of  the  week,  to  receive  instruction  from  the  boys'  teachers  in 
reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic." 

Marblehead  incorporated  the  Academy  in  1 792 ;  though 
there  were  other  schools,  this  was  the  only  one  "  where  girls 
were  admitted  on  the  same  footing  as  boys."  Judge  Joseph 
Story  says  of  this  school:  "Girls  as  well  as  boys  went  to 
the  same  school  at  the  same  hours,  and  were  arranged  on 
opposite  sides  of  a  large  hall  on  their  appropriate  forms." 
He  pays  tribute  to  the  scholarship  of  the  girls.  In  1802 
Cambridge  had  a  "school  for  female  children,  four  months." 
In  1793  the  inhabitants  of  Salem  authorized  "the  school 


THE  EARLY  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  285 

committee  to  provide  at  the  writing  schools  or  elsewhere  for 
the  tuition  of  girls  in  reading,  writing,  and  cyphering."  This 
was  provided  at  the  English  schools,  and  the  girls  were  ad- 
mitted, "but  not  as  associates  and  equals  of  the  boys.  To 
them  an  hour  following  the  morning  session  and  an  hour 
after  school  at  night  was  given."  In  1796  it  is  stated  "that 
schools  for  young  girls  have  been  opened  "  ;  but  in  1812  it 
is  recorded  that  the  girls  "attended  as  usual,  an  hour  at  noon 
and  another  in  the  afternoon."  In  Ipswich,  "till  about  1769, 
it  was  an  unheard  of  thing  for  girls  to  be  instructed  here  by 
a  master." 

The  Charlestown  committee  in  1791  reported  :  "It  is  their 
opinion  that  females  be  admitted  into  the  public  schools 
within  the  Neck  for  six  months  in  the  year,  viz.,  from  May 
to  October  inclusive.  That  their  hours  of  instruction  be 
from  eleven  to  one  o'clock,  and  from  four  to  six.  That  they 
be  admitted  at  seven  years  of  age  or  more.  That  until  nine 
years  of  age  they  be  taught  reading  and  spelling.  That  after 
that  age  they  also  be  taught  writing  and  arithmetic." 

Bristol  had  a  schoolmaster,  one  Captain  Noyes,  whose 
"success  was  so  great,  that  in  1828,  the  committee  asked 
him  to  take  the  town  school  and  allow  the  girls  to  go  and 
share  his  instruction  with  the  boys."  Before  this  the  girls 
had  not  been  to  the  public  schools.  In  the  Portland  school, 
in  1746,  there  were  some  fifty  pupils,  "embracing  girls  and 
boys  of  the  familiar  names  of  that  day  "  ;  and  in  1761  it  is 
said  that  "  at  this  time  and  for  many  years  after  boys  and 
girls  went  to  the  same  school." 

Up  to  1770  Northampton  had  made  no  provision  for  the 
girls.  "  Though  some  of  the  wealthier  citizens  educated  their 
daughters  in  Boston,  private  schools  for  girls  were  kept  at 
the  houses  of  the  inhabitants  in  all  sections  of  the  town. 
The  girls  within  certain  limits  would  gather  at  one  of  the 
farm  houses,  and  the  wife  or  some  member  of  the  family 
was  paid  for  teaching  them."     In  1770  a  log  schoolhouse 


286  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

was  built  in  the  Lickingwater  district,  and  the  next  year 
there  was  an  article  in  the  town  warrant  asking  that  females 
be  allowed  to  attend  this  school,  but  when  it  came  before  the 
meeting  no  action  was  taken,  because  those  who  were  to  be 
benefited  by  it  did  not  desire  it.  This  was  the  first  attempt  on 
the  part  of  the  town  to  give  the  girls  any  share  in  public 
education.  This  question  of  educating  the  girls  came  up 
again  in  1785  but  received  scant  attention;  again  in  1792, 
and  this  time  a  committee  was  appointed  to  take  the  matter 
under  consideration.  Probably  there  had  been  more  or  less 
discussion  during  all  the  intervening  years.  The  committee 
made  this  report :  "That  there  should  be  an  additional  school 
kept  in  Lickingwater,  to  be  opened  on  the  first  day  of  May 
annually,  and  to  be  closed  on  the  last  day  of  October.  At 
which  school  all  the  boys  in  Lickingwater  and  Welch  End, 
and  also  all  the  girls  within  the  same  limits  above  eight  and 
under  thirteen  years  of  age,  shall  be  instructed  in  reading  and 
writing  by  a  master  well  qualified  to  teach  the  same.  Pro- 
vided, however,  that  no  children  shall  be  admitted  into  said 
school  who  have  not  perfectly  learned  the  letters  of  the 
alphabet.  That  girls  in  the  other  parts  of  the  town  within 
the  ages  aforesaid,  shall  be  instructed  in  reading  and  writing 
at  the  new  schoolhouse.  And  the  selectmen  for  the  time  being 
shall  take  due  care  to  have  the  foregoing  report  carried  into 
execution." 

Girls  were  not  admitted  every  year,  even  after  these  votes. 
In  1 799  the  town  refused  to  make  any  appropriation  for  the 
support  of  the  girls'  schools,  and  in  most  years  the  votes 
with  reference  to  them  were  pretty  evenly  divided.  The  town 
as  a  whole  was  not  convinced  of  the  need  of  educating  the 
girls.  The  matter  was  finally  settled  in  1802,  when  a  com- 
mittee reported  "that  school  mistresses  should  be  provided 
for  female  children  under  the  age  of  ten  years  for  five 
months,  from  the  first  of  May  to  the  first  of  October,  one 
mistress  to  thirty  scholars  or  thereabouts ;  that  a  committee 


THE  EARLY  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  287 

should  be  appointed  by  the  town  to  employ  such  mistresses 
and  apportion  the  scholars  among  them  ;  that  female  children 
between  the  ages  of  ten  and  fourteen  should  have  liberty  to 
go  to  the  town  schools  under  the  direction  of  the  selectmen 
for  three  months  of  the  year,  to  wit,  from  the  first  of  May  to 
the  first  of  August,  for  the  purpose  of  being  instructed  in 
writing  and  the  higher  branches  of  education."  This  report 
was  not  accepted  until  the  next  year. 

While  the  town  was  busy  with  its  discussion,  the  private 
schools  for  girls  flourished.  In  these  schools  "not  only  were 
the  rudiments  of  education  obtained,  but  also  the  first  ele- 
ments of  needle  work.  Reading,  spelling,  and  sewing  com- 
prised the  curriculum,  though  some  of  the  older  scholars 
were  taught  to  write,  but  arithmetic  was  an  unknown  quantity. 
...  In  Miss  Hill's  school  Perry's  spelling-book  was  used,  as 
she  was  not  in  favor  of  Webster's.  The  Psalter  and  Bible 
were  also  in  use,  and  a  book  of  reading  lessons,  mostly  reli- 
gious. Sewing  was  one  of  the  most  important  branches  taught 
in  these  schools ;  it  is  reported  that  one  young  girl,  about  six 
years  old,  made  a  Holland  shirt  as  part  of  her  school  work." 

The  following  account  of  the  school  days  of  Mrs.  Luther 
Hunt,  bom  in  1 776,  is  taken  from  the  Judd  manuscripts  : 
"When  four  or  five  years  old,  she  went  to  school  one  summer 
to  Hannah  Parsons,  daughter  of  Jacob,  at  his  house ;  one 
summer  to  Rachel  Parsons,  daughter  of  Isaac,  at  his  house ; 
after  this  she  went  several  summers  to  Prudence  Parsons, 
daughter  of  Josiah,  at  his  house ;  Prudence  kept  school  ten 
or  twelve  summers,  not  in  winter.  She  had  twenty  or  thirty 
scholars  who  each  paid  her  six  pence  per  week.  When 
Mrs.  Hunt  went  to  her  they  read  in  the  Testament  and  the 
smaller  ones  in  the  spelling  book,  and  had  no  other  reading 
books.  She  does  not  recollect  using  a  Psalter  or  Dilworth's. 
They  spelt  daily  and  repeated  a  portion  of  the  catechism 
once  a  day.  Much-  of  the  time  was  spent  in  sewing ;  that 
was  an  important  object  of  the  school." 


288  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

When  the  girls  first  went  from  the  dame  and  private 
schools  to  the  town  schools,  they  naturally  took  their  knit- 
ting and  sewing  with  them,  until  in  some  towns  direct  votes 
forbidding  this  practice  were  passed.  Some  amusing  results 
are  recorded  of  the  practice,  of  which  two  are  given  here. 
At  Hanover,  Massachusetts,  it  is  stated  that  "girls  carried 
their  samplers  to  be  wrought  and  their  knitting  and  sewing. 
It  sometimes  taxed  the  patience  of  our  worthy  pedagogues 
severely  to  have  little  misses  come  up  and  ask  questions  about 
their  knitting.  Luke  Stetson,  it  is  said,  told  one  of  his  pupils 
to  widen,  widen,  until  she  had  knit  her  stocking  as  wide  as  a 
meal  bag."  The  schoolmaster  at  Sanbornton,  New  Hampshire, 
in  1 775,  produced  opposite  results :  "  In  one  of  his  first  schools, 
a  young  girl  carried  her  knitting  work  into  the  schoolroom. 
Being  a  new  beginner,  she  supposed  of  course  she  must  ask 
the  master  for  directions  as  to  her  work.  She  accordingly 
went  to  him  several  times  and  he  directed  her  every  time  to 
narrow.  This  process  soon  brought  the  matter  to  a  point, 
and  when  the  unsuspecting  girl  asked  for  further  instruc- 
tions, the  master  advised  her  to  apply  to  her  mother." 

Private  schools  for  girls  were  very  commonly  advertised. 
Two  samples  will  suffice :  at  Salem,  in  1782,  "  Mr.  Bartlett 
states  that  he  shall  instruct  young  ladies  in  spelling,  reading, 
writing,  arithmetic,  composition,  and  history"  ;  and  in  1783 
'"  Nathan  Reed  has  commenced  a  school  near  the  town  house 
for  young  ladies,  for  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  English 
grammar,  elocution,  composition,  and  geography." 

It  was  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  find  the  schoolmasters 
advertising  their  early  morning  schools.  In  1773  one  of  the 
Salem  schoolmasters  advertised  "  to  commence  a  school  for 
young  ladies,  beginning  at  the  hours  of  eleven  and  five, 
o'clock,  where  they  will  learn  to  write  and  cypher  "  ;  while 
in  1796  "  Mr.  Jackson  notifies  that  he  shall  have  a  morning 
school  from  six  to  eight  o'clock  for  young  ladies,  in  the 
common  and  higher  studies."    In  Norwich,  Connecticut,  the 


THE  EARLY  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  289 

morning  hours  given  to  the  girls  were  "from  five  o'clock  to 
seven  a.m."  When  Nathan  Hale  kept  school  at  New  London, 
in  a  letter  written  to  a  friend  in  1774,  he  says :  "I  have  kept 
during  the  summer  a  morning  school  between  the  hours  of 
five  and  seven,  of  about  twenty  young  ladies  ;  for  which  I 
have  received  six  shillings  a  scholar  by  the  quarter." 

Family  instruction,  the  dame  school,  the  private  schools  in 
the  larger  towns,  and,  finally,  the  separate  instruction  by  the 
public  schoolmasters  were  the  steps  leading  girls  to  the  public 
schools.  The  doors  opened  slowly,  grudgingly ;  New  England 
conservatism  gave  way  upon  this  as  upon  all  school  questions, 
reluctantly.  It  required  nearly  two  hundred  years  from  the 
founding  of  the  first  school  to  place  girls  "on  equal  footing 
with  the  boys." 


XII 

EDUCATIONAL  STRAWS 

I.  Requirements  for  Admission 

In  a  preceding  section  allusion  has  been  made  to  the  fact 
that  pupils  were  not  admitted  to  masters*  schools,  whether 
grammar  or  English,  unless  they  measured  up  to  certain 
entrance  requirements,  and  that  these  requirements  had  to 
be  met  generally  by  the  parents  at  private  expense.  This 
was  doubtless  another  of  the  customs  brought  from  England, 
for  the  St.  Saviour's  Grammar  School  of  Southwark,  which 
John  Harvard  attended,  did  not  receive  boys  until  they  were 
over  seven,  and  then  they  must  be  "able  to  read  English 
well,  to  write  a  legible  hand,  and  be  able  to  enter  straight- 
way in  Latin  accidence." 

These  entrance  requirements  extended  over  a  long  period 
of  time  and  did  not  essentially  vary  very  much.  They  all 
aimed  at  relieving  the  master  from  teaching  the  first  rudi- 
ments of  education  and  allowing  him  to  expend  his  time 
and  energy  and  ability  in  building  the  superstructure.  These 
requirements  can  best  be  judged  from  various  town  and 
committee  actions. 

In  165 1  the  master  at  New  Haven  agreed  to  teach  the 
children  "  after  they  are  entered  and  can  read  in  the  Testa- 
ment." In  the  Connecticut  Colony  in  1652  "the  Governor 
acquainted  the  Court  that  he  had  heard  the  schoolmaster 
is  somewhat  discouraged  because  he  hath  so  many  English 
scholars  which  he  must  learn  to  spell,  which  was  never  the 
town's  mind,  and  it  was  now  ordered  that  the  schoolmaster 

290 


EDUCATIONAL  STRAWS  291 

shall  send  back  such  scholars  as  he  sees  does  not  answer  the 
first  agreement  with  him,  and  the  parents  of  such  children 
were  desired  not  to  send  them."  This  was  ineffective,  for 
in  1654  "a  complaint  was  made  that  the  schoolmaster  is 
so  employed  in  teaching  children  sent  to  him  to  learn  their 
letters,  that  others  for  whom  the  school  was  chiefly  intended, 
as  Latin  scholars,  are  neglected ;  Wherefore,  two  of  the 
townsmen  were  now  sent  to  send  all  such  children  home 
and  desired  the  schoolmaster  not  to  receive  any  more  such," 

At  Newbury,  in  1653,  the  schoolmaster  was  engaged  "to 
teach  all  such  inhabitants'  children  as  shall  be  sent  to  him 
as  soon  as  they  know  their  letters  and  begin  to  read."  Dor- 
chester, in  1655,  ij^  ^  contract  with  a  schoolmaster,  named 
the  scholars  he  was  to  teach,  "  which  is  to  be  understood 
such  children  as  are  so  far  entered  already  to  know  their 
letters  and  to  spell  somewhat."  In  1684  the  New  Haven 
Grammar  School  would  not  receive  scholars  to  learn  English 
"  but  such  as  have  been  before  taught  to  spell  their  letters  well 
and  begun  to  read,  thereby  to  perfect  their  right  spelling  and 
reading."  Farmington,  Connecticut,  in  1688,  voted  "whereas, 
the  town  at  a  meeting  held  December,  1687,  agreed  to  give 
;^20,  as  is  there  expressed,  to  teach  all  such  as  shall  be  sent, 
•by  vote  the  town  declare  that  all  such  as  shall  be  sent  is 
to  be  understood  only  male  children  that  are  through  their 
horn  book." 

In  1690  the  Connecticut  records  mention  free  schools 
"  for  the  teaching  of  all  such  children  as  shall  come  there 
after  they  can  first  read  the  Psalter."  In  1694  a  schoolmaster 
at  Amesbury  engaged  "  to  teach  all  persons  that  belong  to 
the  town  that  shall  attend  the  school  at  any  time,  except 
such  little  ones  as  cannot  say  their  ABC."  New  London, 
in  1698,  explained  that  "by  reading  is  intended  such  chil- 
dren as  are  in  their  Psalters,"  and  in  the  same  year  Windsor, 
Connecticut,  engaged  a  schoolmaster  "  to  take  none  but  such 
as  are  entered  in  spelling." 


292  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

The  next  century  witnessed  similar  demands.  At  Ports- 
mouth, New  Hampshire,  in  1701,  a  schoolmaster  agreed  to 
"  teach  all  town  children  and  servants  as  are  able  competently 
to  read  from  their  Psalters,"  and  three  years  later  it  was  de- 
cided "  to  learn  them  from  their  primers."  There  was  diffi- 
culty in  finding  schoolmasters  to  take  children  so  poorly 
prepared,  but  one  was  found  who  agreed  "  to  teach  all  chil- 
dren that  can  read  in  their  Psalters  and  upwards."  In  1712 
the  master  at  Charlestown  requested  that  regulations  might 
be  made  about  the  town  school,  and  it  was  voted  "  that, 
whereas  the  school  being  thronged  with  so  many  small  read- 
ing children  that  are  not  able  to  spell  or  read  as  they  ought 
to  do,  by  reason  of  which  Latin  scholars,  writers  and  cypher- 
ers  cannot  be  duly  attended  and  instructed  as  they  ought  to 
be,"  two  men  of  the  town  should  be  chosen  "inspectors  and 
regulators"  of  the  matter.  In  1728  the  school  was  crowded, 
and  the  town  considered  the  question  of  employing  an  assist- 
ant to  the  master,  or  of  building  another  schoolhouse.  The 
matter  was  left  to  a  committee,  which  later  reported  "that  if 
the  school  were  under  a  due  regulation  so  that  none  were 
admitted  into  it  but  such  as  are  fit  therefor,"  this  need  not 
be  done,  and  added,  "  in  order  to  the  regulating  thereof,  we 
propose  that  some  proper  persons  be  chosen  who  shall  be  de-. 
sired  to  examine  all  such  children  as  are  offered,  at  such  times 
as  they  shall  appoint,  and  that  the  instructor  admit  none  but 
such  as  they  approve  and  that  but  twice  a  year." 

In  1728  the  Roxbury  master  asked  if  he  should  receive 
scholars  "  before  they  can  read  tolerably  well  in  their  Psal- 
ters," and  the  feoffees  answered  that  he  "shall  not  be  obliged 
to  receive  any  children  for  his  instruction  until  such  time  as 
they  can  spell  common  easy  English  words  either  in  the 
Primer  or  in  the  Psalter  in  some  good  measure."  A  similar 
requirement  was  in  force  more  than  sixty  years  later,  for 
in  1789  children  were  required  "to  read  tolerably  well  by 
spelling  words  of  four  syllables." 


EDUCATIONAL  STRAWS  293 

Little  is  said  in  the  Boston  records  about  entrance  to  the 
schools,  but  in  1741,  in  an  investigation  of  a  complaint 
against  some  of  the  masters,  it  was  brought  out  "  that  the 
children  of  the  town  who  could  read  in  the  Psalter  had  not 
been  refused  admittance." 

In  1762  no  children  were  to  be  sent  to  the  Portland 
schools  "  unless  they  could  read  in  the  Psalter." 

Providence,  in  1767,  built  three  small  schools  and  one 
large  one.  A  special  committee  was  appointed  to  consider 
the  whole  school  question.  They  proposed  many  changes, 
among  which  was  the  following:  "And  that  each  and  every 
scholar  before  they  be  admitted  into  any  of  the  small  schools 
shall  have  learnt  their  letters  and  acquired  some  acquaintance 
with  spelling,  and  before  they  be  permitted  to  enter  the  larger 
school  they  must  have  gained  considerable  knowledge  in  read- 
ing and  writing,  and  that  all  those  who  may  be  thus  qualified 
shall  and  may  be  admitted  to  all  the  advantages  of  education 
that  may  be  taught  in  either  of  the  respective  schools." 

In  1782  Dr.  Lathrop  left  money  for  a  school  in  Norwich, 
with  some  conditions  ;  among  them,  "  no  child  to  be  sent  to 
said  school  but  such  as  can  read  in  class." 

Among  the  committee  rules  at  Haverhill,  in  1790,  was 
this,  "  None  should  be  admitted  into  the  grammar  school  but 
such  as  could  with  a  degree  of  readiness  read  words  of  two 
syllables."  When  the  first  school  for  both  boys  and  girls 
was  established  in  Northampton  (in  1792),  it  was  stipulated 
"  that  no  children  shall  be  admitted  into  said  school  who 
have  not  perfectly  learned  the  letters  of  the  alphabet."  Med- 
ford,  in  1794,  "voted  that  no  children,  whether  male  or 
female,  be  admitted  into  the  public  school  under  the  age  of 
seven  years,  nor  then  unless  they  have  been  previously  taught 
to  read  the  English  language  by  spelling  the  same."  Among 
school  regulations  at  Framingham  in  1800  was  this,  "That  it 
be  recommended  to  the  inhabitants  not  to  send  any  scholar 
to  the  writing  school  but  those  who  can  read  words  of  two 


294  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

syllables  by  spelling  the  same."  In  Dorchester,  as  late  as 
1805,  there  was  this  rule,  "  Children  are  not  to  be  admitted 
to  the  schools  till  they  are  able  to  stand  up  and  read  words 
of  two  syllables  and  keep  their  places."  Brookline,  in  1823, 
"voted  that  the  vote  rejecting  young  children  from  men's 
schools  till  they  read  in  plain  reading  be  reconsidered,  and 
that  hereafter  small  children  be  admitted." 

These  entrance  requirements,  extending  over  nearly  two 
hundred  years,  show  how  slowly  changes  were  made  in  school 
conditions,  and  indicate  why  New  England  conservatism  in 
school  affairs  is  so  hard  to  overcome  even  now. 

n.    Religion  in  the  Schools 

The  modern  school  is  decidedly  nonsectarian,  nonreli- 
gious ;  the  early  school  was  just  as  decidedly  sectarian  and 
religious.  The  reason  for  this  is  very  apparent.  The  early 
settlers  were  an  intensely  religious  people ;  they  longed  for 
religious  freedom  for  themselves,  though  unwilling  to  accord 
it  to  others.  Religion  was  a  part  of  their  compact  with  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  Company,  with  which  the  ministers  agreed 
"  to  teach  and  catechise  the  Company's  servants  and  their 
children,  as  also  the  savages  and  their  children."  In  164 1 
the  General  Court  requested  "  that  the  elders  would  make  a 
catechism  for  the  instruction  of  youth  in  the  grounds  of  reli- 
gion," The  next  year  they  passed  this  law :  "  For  as  much  as 
the  good  education  of  children  is  of  singular  behoof  and  ben- 
efit to  any  commonwealth  and  whereas  many  parents  and 
masters  are  too  indulgent  and  negligent  of  their  duty  in  that 
kind,  it  is  ordered  .  .  .  also,  that  all  masters  of  families  do 
once  a  week,  at  the  least,  catechise  their  children  and  servants 
in  the  grounds  and  principles  of  religion,  and  if  any  be  unable 
to  do  so  much,  that  then  at  the  least  they  procure  such  chil- 
dren and  apprentices  to  learn  some  short  orthodox  catechism 
without  book,  that  they  may  be  able  to  answer  unto  the  ques- 
tions that  shall  be  propounded  to  them,  out  of  such  catechism, 


EDUCATIONAL  STRAWS  295 

by  their  parents  or  masters  or  any  of  the  selectmen,  when 
they  shall  call  them  to  a  trial  of  what  they  have  learned  in 
this  kind,"  The  selectmen  were  authorized  to  find  out  the 
ability  of  children  "to  read  and  understand  the  principles  of 
religion  and  the  capital  laws  of  the  country."  Religion  gov- 
erned town  control  of  the  family.  Religion  was  the  basis  of 
service  in  the  town — in  vote,  in  office,  in  power.  The  presi- 
dent of  Harvard  College  and  the  humblest  schoolmaster  must 
give  "  due  satisfaction  according  to  the  rules  of  Christ." 
Schools  were  established  for  good  citizenship,  but  religion 
was  deemed  essential  for  good  citizenship.  Hence  religion 
was  deeply  imbedded  in  the  schools  and  the  school  curricu- 
lum, '"  for  as  much  as  it  greatly  concerns  the  welfare  of  the 
country  that  the  youth  thereof  be  educated  not  only  in  good 
literature  but  sound  doctrine."  At  Harvard  aid  was  given  to 
such  scholars  as  were  "poor,  pious,  and  learned,"  but  if  "no 
such  youths  "  were  present,  it  could  be  used  otherwise. 

In  "  New  England  First  Fruits  "  is  this  oft-quoted  sentence : 
"  After  God  had  carried  us  safe  to  New  England  and  we 
had  builded  our  houses,  provided  necessaries  for  our  liveli- 
hood, reared  convenient  places  for  God's  worship,  and  settled 
the  civil  government,  one  of  the  next  things  we  longed  for 
and  looked  after  was  to  advance  learning  and  perpetuate  it 
to  posterity,  dreading  to  leave  an  illiterate  ministry  to  the 
churches  when  our  present  ministers  shall  lie  in  the  dust." 
In  1669  the  governor  and  Council  of  Massachusetts  ad- 
vised the  clergymen  of  all  towns  "  to  catechise  and  instruct 
all  people,  especially  youth,  in  the  sound  principles  of  Chris- 
tian religion,  and  that  not  only  in  public  but  privately  from 
house  to  house,  or  at  least  three,  four  or  more  families  meet- 
ing together,  as  time  and  strength  may  permit,  taking  to 
your  assistance  such  godly  and  grave  persons  as  to  you 
may  seem  expedient."  New  Haven  schools  were  established 
"for  the  training  up  of  youth,  that  through  the  blessing  of 
God  they  might  be  fitted  for  public  service  in  church  and 


296  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

commonwealth  "  ;  and  in  1656  parents  and  masters  must 
see  "  that  their  children  and  apprentices  should  be  taught  to 
read  the  scriptures  and  other  good  and  profitable  books  in 
the  English  tongue,  being  their  native  language,  and  in  some 
competent  measure  to  understand  the  main  grounds  and 
principles  of  the  Christian  religion  necessary  to  salvation." 

The  Connecticut  records,  in  1742,  speak  of  "inferior 
schools  of  learning  in  every  town  or  parish,  for  the  educa- 
tion and  instruction  of  the  youth  in  this  colony,  which  by  the 
blessing  of  God  have  been  very  serviceable  to  promote  use- 
ful learning  and  Christian  knowledge,  and  more  especially  to 
train  up  a  learned  and  orthodox  ministry  for  the  supply  of 
our  churches." 

Under  the  law  requesting  selectmen  to  examine  families 
we  find  Billerica,  in  1661,  agreeing  "  that  Lieut.  Will  French 
and  Ralph  Hill,  senior,  do  take  care  and  examine  the  several 
families  in  our  town,  whether  their  children  and  servants  are 
taught  in  the  precepts  of  religion,  in  reading  and  learning 
their  catechism,"^ and  again,  in  1674,  "in  reference  to  the 
catechising  of  the  youth  of  the  town  and  examining  them 
concerning  their  reading,  a  duty  imposed  on  the  selectmen 
by  the  honored  court,  to  take  care  that  children  and  youth  be 
instructed  in  both ;  the  selectmen  do  order  that  all  children 
and  youth,  .single  persons  from  eight  years  old  and  upwards, 
their  parents  and  masters  shall  send  such  children  and  ser- 
vants to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Samuel  Whiting  at  such  times  as  shall 
be  afterward  appointed  by  him,  to  be  examined  of  both,  as 
hoping  this  might  be  a  good  expedient  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  all  superiors  and  youth." 

At  Watertown,  in  1670,  "it  was  further  agreed  that  the 
selectmen  should  go  through  the  town  in  their  several  quarters 
to  make  trial  whether  the  children  and  servants  be  educated 
in  learning  to  read  the  English  tongue,  and  in  the  knowledge 
of  the  capital  laws  of  the  country,  also  that  they  be  educated 
in  some  orthodox  catechise  "  ;  and  again,  in   1679,  it  was 


EDUCATIONAL  STRAWS  297 

"  agreed  by  the  selectmen  that  they  would  go  to  and  fro 
through  the  town  and  see  that  all  children  be  taught  to  read 
the  English  tongue  and  some  orthodox  catechise  ;  and  to  take 
the  names  of  all  youths  from  ten  years  old  unto  twenty  years 
old,  that  they  may  be  publicly  catechised  by  the  pastor  in  the 
meetinghouse." 

At  Sudbury,  in  1655,  persons  were  "appointed  for  to 
take  pains  for  to  see  into  the  general  families  in  town,  to 
see  whether  children  and  servants  are  employed  in  work 
and  educated  in  the  ways  of  God  and  in  the  grounds  of 
religion,  according  to  the  order  of  the  General  Court." 

Dorchester,  in  1655,  passed  this:  "Whereas  the  General 
Court,  out  of  the  religious  care  of  the  education  of  the  youth 
of  this  Commonwealth  in  the  principles  of  Christian  religion, 
hath  enjoined  the  selectmen  of  every  town  within  their  several 
limits  to  have  a  vigilant  eye  to  see  that  men's  children  and 
such  as  are  within  their  charge  be  catechised  in  some  ortho- 
dox catechism  in  families,  so  as  they  may  be  ready  to  answer 
the  selectmen  as  they  see  time  convenient  to  examine  them, 
we,  the  selectmen  of  this  town  of  Dorchester  for  the  time 
being,  in  our  obedience  to  authority,  and  in  pursuit  of  so 
useful  and  profitable  a  work,  do  hereby  will  and  require  all 
parents,  masters  and  any  that  have  the  charge  and  over- 
sight of  any  youth  within  this  plantation,  that  they  be  dili- 
gent to  observe  this  injunction  to  catechise  their  children, 
servants  and  others  within  their  several  charge,  in  some 
sound  orthodox  catechism,  that  they  may  be  able  to  render 
account  hereof  when  they  shall  be  hereunto  required,  either 
in  the  church  or  privately ;  as  upon  advice  shall  be  judged 
most  conducing  to  the  general  good  of  all  men.  And  fail 
not  herein  upon  such  penalty  as  the  Court  shall  see  reason 
to  inflict  upon  information  given  against  such  as  shall  be 
found  delinquent  herein,  this  i  ith  of  the  12th  month,  1655." 
And  in  1656  a  memorandum  is  recorded  "that  the  Grand 
Jurymen  were  with  us  to  speak  with  us  about  some  things  that 


298  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

they  thought  were  liable  to  be  presented,  as  namely  this,  that 
the  catechising  of  children  is  neglected  in  our  town." 

At  Cambridge,  in  1668,  at  the  selectmen's  meeting,  various 
men  were  appointed  in  different  sections  of  the  town  "for 
catechising  the  youth  of  this  town."  The  same  thing  was 
done  in  1670. 

At  Concord,  in  1680,  "  it  was  necessary  from  time  to  time 
to  remind  the  inhabitants  of  their  want  of  a  schoolmaster 
and  their  supposed  inattention  to  the  catechising  of  youth." 
Hampton,  New  Hampshire,  in  1664,  "voted  and  agreed 
that  those  that  are  willing  to  have  their  children  called  forth 
to  be  catechised  shall  give  in  their  names  to  Mr.  Cotton  for 
that  end,  between  this  and  the  second  day  of  next  month." 

These  sufficiently  indicate  the  intensity  of  the  religious 
ardor ;  under  this  stimulus  it  naturally  followed  that  the 
catechism  flourished.  Many  towns  published  editions  of 
their  own,  as  Dorchester,  Concord,  and  towns  in  Connec- 
ticut and  New  Hampshire.  In  many  cases  the  towns  paid 
the  expense.  Mather,  speaking  of  these  many  editions,  says  : 
"  These  last  ages  have  abounded  in  labors  of  this  kind  ;  one 
speaketh  of  no  less  than  five  hundred  catechisms  extant ; 
which  of  these  is  most  eligible  I  shall  leave  unto  others  to 
determine.  I  suppose  there  is  no  particular  catechism  of 
which  it  may  be  said,  it  is  the  best  for  every  family  or  for 
every  congregation."  The  Westminster  Assembly's  Shorter 
Catechism  in  time  took  the  place  of  nearly  all  these  local  ones. 

As  a  result  of  all  these  efforts,  Neal,  in  1700,  found 
"  hardly  a  child  of  nine  or  ten  years  old  throughout  the 
whole  country  but  can  read  and  write  and  say  his  catechism." 
Naturally  the  schools  reflected  this  zeal.  It  was  reflected  in 
two  ways — in  the  direct  teaching  of  the  catechism  and  in  the 
amount  of  prayer  and  Bible  reading  and  direct  religious  in- 
struction that  prevailed  for  so  many  years  and  which  in 
Massachusetts  caused  Horace  Mann  to  write  in  his  twelfth 
report:  "It  was  not  until  the  tenth  day  of  March,   1827, 


EDUCATIONAL  STRAWS  299 

that  it  was  made  unlawful  to  use  the  common  schools  of  the 
state  as  the  maans  of  proselyting  children  to  the  belief  in  the 
doctrines  of  particular  sects,  whether  their  parents  believed 
in  those  doctrines  or  not." 

The  whole  school  atmosphere  was  imbued  with  the  partic- 
ular religious  beliefs  of  the  times ;  the  minister  was  essentially 
the  parish  priest,  and  the  schools  were  as  much  parish  schools 
as  any  we  have  to-day.  The  catechism  was  taught  in  all 
schools  until  well  into  the  nineteenth  century.  The  demand 
is  found  in  agreements  with  schoolmasters,  in  town  votes, 
and  in  school-committee  regulations.  The  agreement  with 
the  schoolmaster  at  Hampton,  New  Hampshire,  in  1649, 
read  :  "  And  also  to  teach  and  instruct  them  once  in  a  week 
or  more  in  some  orthodox  catechise  provided  for  them  by 
their  parents  or  masters."  Among  the  rules  for  the  school- 
master at  Dorchester  was  this  :  "'  Every  sixth  day  of  the 
week  at  two  of  the  clock  in  the  afternoon,  he  shall  catechise 
his  scholars  in  the  principles  of  Christian  religion,  either  in 
some  catechism  which  the  wardens  shall  provide  and  present, 
or  in  defect  thereof,  in  some  other."  At  Watertown,  in  1677, 
a  boy  was  bound  out  until  he  was  2 1 .  Among  the  things  in 
the  agreement  he  was  to  be  taught  "  some  orthodox  catechise." 
A  year  later  the  agreement  with  the  schoolmaster  read,  "'  And 
once  a  week  to  teach  them  their  catechise,"  In  Woburn  a 
committee  on  the  conduct  of  the  schools  reported,  "We 
recommend  that  the  catechism  be  taught  in  school  once  a 
week,  especially  the  Commandments  with  their  several  ex- 
planations." At  the  grammar  school  at  New  Haven,  in 
1684,  "two  hours  in  the  afternoon  of  Saturday  were  to  be 
employed  in  catechising  the  scholars."  In  1770  "the  As- 
sembly's catechism  was  repeated  at  the  close  of  every  Satur- 
day forenoon  school,"  in  Hartford.  In  Boston,  in  17 19, 
among  the  directions  given  to  the  masters  of  the  free  writing 
schools  was  this,  "  that  the  scholars  be  catechised  every 
Saturday  afternoon  the  form  of  the  Assembly  catechism." 


300  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

At  Haverhill,  in  1790,  among  the  regulations  of  the  school 
committee  accepted  by  the  town,  the  grammar  school  was 
divided  into  two  classes ;  the  "  second  class  were  each  to 
bring  one  or  more  answers  daily  out  of  such  catechisms  as 
shall  be  directed  by  their  parents  or  guardians.  .  .  .  Saturdays 
in  the  forenoon  the  master  was  to  instruct  his  scholars  in 
some  catechism  and  address  them  on  moral  and  religious 
subjects."  Ipswich,  in  1792,  voted  "that  in  both  schools  of 
the  town  parishes,  the  catechism  of  the  Assembly  of  Divines 
with  Dr.  Watts'  explanatory  notes,  and  the  catechism  by 
the  same  author,  be  constantly  used  as  much  as  three  or 
four  times  a  week,  according  to  the  different  grades  of  the 
scholars,  until  the  same  are  committed  to  memory."  This 
lasted  until  1826. 

At  Windham,  New  Hampshire,  it  is  recorded  concerning 
the  catechism,  about  1780  :  "  It  was  recited  weekly  Saturday 
in  the  forenoon,  but  one  question  was  to  be  answered  for 
each  day.  Not  only  the  smaller  catechism  but  the  larger  was 
learned  in  the  school,  no  trifling  task  for  the  memories,  and 
yet  it  strengthened  them  by  the  required  labor.  They  would 
lay  this  book  under  their  pillow  at  night,  and  take  it  as  soon  as 
light  broke  upon  them  in  the  morning.  Some  young  scholars 
committed  both  the  smaller  and  larger  catechisms  before 
twelve  years  of  age.  The  catechism  was  neglected  by  some 
teachers,  but  they  had  the  Commandments  on  Saturday 
forenoons." 

Marlborough,  New  Hampshire,  in  1807,  voted  "  that  the 
schoolmaster  teach  the  scholars  the  catechism  once  a  week." 
At  Windham,  New  Hampshire,  "The  Westminster  Catechism 
was  used  as  a  text  book,  and  lessons  in  it  recited  every  Satur- 
day forenoon."  Farmington,  Connecticut,  in  181 5,  recorded, 
"  On  Saturdays,  the  master  will  teach  the  children  the  cate- 
chism before  mentioned ;  and  it  is  expected  that  all  such  as 
go  through  a  course  of  ordinary  school  learning  will  commit 
the  whole  to  memory  so  as  to  be  able  promptly  to  answer 


EDUCATIONAL  STRAWS  301 

every  question  therein."  The  Assembly  Catechism  was  used 
in  Connecticut  until  1846. 

Clergymen  visited  the  schools  and  examined  pupils  in  the 
catechism  through  all  these  years.  It  is  said  :  "  Dr.  Emmons 
of  Franklin,  the  noted  divine  of  the  last  century,  it  appears, 
was  the  last  to  discontinue  this  practice  in  the  schools  of 
New  England,  continuing  the  same  into  the  early  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century."  At  Springfield  "  the  Rev.  Mr.  Howard 
used  to  visit  the  schools  Saturday  mornings,  the  time  set 
apart  for  the  catechism,  and  would  hear  the  little  ones  '  recite 
sanctification,'  justification  and  election,'  and  would  have  in 
turn  a  word  or  two  on  the  evils  of  insubordination."  Where 
schools  were  not  near,  family  instruction  was  maintained. 
Jeremiah  Mason  of  Lebanon,  Connecticut,  born  in  1768, 
wrote  :  "  My  mother  was  careful  to  have  us  well  drilled  in 
the  Westminster  catechism,  which  was  faithfully  committed 
to  memory,  and  Mr.  Stowe,  our  parish  minister,  came  regu- 
larly once  a  year  and  examined  us." 

Other  religious  instruction  was  as  zealously  and  authorita- 
tively insisted  upon.  Among  the  1645  Dorchester  rules  were 
these :  "'  Every  second  day  in  the  week  he  shall  call  his 
scholars  together  between  1 2  and  i  of  the  clock,  to  examine 
them  what  they  have  learned  on  the  Sabbath  day  preceding, 
at  which  time  also  he  shall  take  notice  of  any  misdemeanor 
or  disorder  that  any  of  his  scholars  shall  have  committed  on 
the  Sabbath  ; .  .  .  and  because  all  man's  endeavors  without  the 
blessing  of  God  must  needs  be  fruitless  and  unsuccessful, 
therefore  it  is  to  be  the  chief  part  of  the  schoolmaster's  care 
to  commend  his  scholars  and  his  labors  amongst  them  unto 
God  by  prayer  morning  and  evening,  taking  care  that  his 
scholars  do  readily  attend  during  the  same." 

The  New  Haven  grammar-school  rules  of  1684  had  this : 
"  The  scholars  being  called  together,  the  master  shall  every 
morning  begin  his  work  with  a  short  prayer  for  a  blessing  on 
his  labors  and  their  learning.  .  .  .  That  if  any  of  the  school 


302  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

boys  be  observed  to  play,  sleep,  or  behave  themselves  rudely 
or  irreverently,  or  be  any  way  disorderly  at  meeting  on  the 
Sabbath  days  or  any  other  times  of  public  worships  of  God, 
upon  information  or  complaint  thereof  to  the  due  conviction 
of  the  offender  or  offenders,  the  master  shall  give  them  due 
correction  to  the  degree  of  the  offence ;  and  that  all  cor- 
rections shall  be  with  moderation.  .  .  .  That  all  the  Latin 
scholars,  and  all  other  boys  of  competent  age  and  capacity, 
give  the  master  an  account  of  one  passage  or  sentence  at 
least  of  the  sermons  the  foregoing  Sabbath,  on  the  second 
day  morning." 

Boston,  in  17 19,  gave  certain  directions  to  the  masters, 
among  which  were  these  :  "  That  morning  and  evening  prayer 
be  attended  in  the  said  schools.  That  a  portion  of  God's  word 
be  read  by  some  of  the  scholars  morning  and  evening  by 
turns."  Boston  had  impressive  induction  ceremonies,  during 
which  instructions  were  given  to  the  new  master  :  "And  that 
he  does  not  fail  causing  the  children  to  read  a  portion  of  scrip- 
ture every  day,  and  of  instructing  them  in  the  catechism  once 
a  week."  Also  he  shall  "'  constantly  open  the  school  in  the 
morning  and  close  the  same  in  the  evening  with  prayer." 
In  1 7 10  a  committee  on  visitation  was  established  and  in- 
structed, "  And  at  their  said  visitation  one  of  the  ministers 
by  turn  to  pray  with  the  scholars  and  entertain  them  with 
some  instructions  of  piety  specially  adapted  to  their  age  and 
education." 

In  Wobum,  about  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  a  committee 
of  two  clergymen  and  five  prominent  men  made  a  report. 
Among  other  things  it  was  recommended,  "  The  school  to 
be  opened  with  prayer,  which  we  think  decent  and  becoming 
creatures  dependent  on  a  Creator.  We  also  recommend  that 
the  Holy  Bible  should  be  read  once  each  day  by  such  classes 
as  are  capable  of  reading  the  same,  and  such  parts  selected  at 
the  discretion  of  the  master  as  may  best  suit  the  age  and 
capacity  of  the  children." 


EDUCATIONAL  STRAWS  303 

According  to  the  Haverhill  rules  of  1790  the  schools 
were  to  be  "  opened  in  the  morning  and  closed  in  the  eve- 
ning by  the  schoolmaster  with  an  act  of  religion,  reading  a 
portion  of  the  Bible  every  morning,  accompanied  with  an 
address  to  God  in  prayer,  and  closing  every  evening  with 
prayer."  At  Hingham,  in  1797,  the  school  committee  voted 
"  that  the  masters  and  mistresses  of  the  several  schools  be 
directed  to  read  a  chapter  in  the  Bible  every  morning  to  their 
scholars,  and  that  those  of  them  who  are  far  enough  advanced 
in  reading  use  the  Bible  as  their  school  book  on  Saturdays." 
It  is  said  of  a  Windham  teacher,  "  It  was  the  practise  of  Mr. 
Williams  to  open  the  exercises  of  school  in  the  morning  with 
prayer  and  no  uncommon  occurrence  to  particularize  any  stu- 
dent whom  he  thought  specially  needed  Divine  assistance." 
Marlborough,  New  Hampshire,  in  1807,  "voted  to  have  the 
Bible  introduced  into  the  schools."  At  Bedford,  in  18 19, 
the  masters'  schools  were  required  to  be  opened  and  closed 
with  prayer,  and  the  record  further  states,  "  Which  practise 
also  is  particularly  recommended  to  the  serious  consideration 
of  female  instructors,  who  will  be  permitted  to  use  an  approved 
written  form  of  prayer."  At  Farmington,  Connecticut,  as  late 
as  18 1 5  the  school  authorities  adopted  these  rules:  "The 
masters  will  select  such  letters  from  the  Bible  for  those  who 
read  therein  as  they  can  best  understand,  and  will  frequently 
explain  and  inculcate  such  truths  in  the  course  of  the  reading 
as  lie  nearest  the  level  of  their  capacities,  by  occasional  re- 
marks or  a  more  solemn  address,  particularly  their  obligations 
to  honor  and  obey  their  parents ;  to  subject  to  magistrates 
and  all  in  authority ;  to  revere  the  ministers  of  the  gospel ; 
to  respect  the  aged  and  all  their  superiors  ;  to  reverence  the 
Sabbath,  the  word  and  worship  of  God ;  of  their  accounta- 
bility to  Him,  of  their  mortality  and  of  the  importance  of 
religion,  both  as  a  preparation  for  death  and  the  only  means 
of  true  peace,  comfort  and  usefulness  in  the  world."  An  aged 
and  intelligent  citizen  of  Springfield  says  "  he  remembers 


304  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

that  the  zealous  teacher  often  prayed  and  exhorted  when 
she  should  have  been  hearing  their  lessons.  She  would  talk 
to  the  scholars  about  the  devil,  who,  she  said,  went  round 
from  house  to  house  with  a  red-hot  pitchfork  to  carry  off 
naughty  children  ;  that  death  stabbed  with  a  dart  or  spear, 
and  that  hell  was  a  place  where  the  wicked  were  burned  in 
fire  and  brimstone." 

In  addition  to  all  this  law  and  regulation  and  zeal,  reading 
was  almost  exclusively  from  the  Psalter,  the  New  Testament, 
or  the  Bible  as  a  whole.  Until  about  the  time  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, these  were  the  only  reading  books.  Religion  came  from 
absorption  as  well  as  instruction.  The  early  books,  as  the 
"  New  England  Primer,"  were  full  of  Bible  allusions.  The 
illustrations,  such  as  they  were,  were  fiercely  religious  and 
terrifying  to  the  youthful  imagination,  if  youngsters  had  any 
in  those  days.    Such  rimes  as 

In  Adam's  fall 
We  sinned  all. 

Thy  life  to  mend, 
This  book  attend. 

Young  Obadias, 
David  and  Josias, 
All  were  pious. 

Xerxes,  the  Great  did  die, 
And  so  must  you  and  I, 

coupled  as  they  were  with  pictures  of  the  martyr  Rogers  sur- 
rounded by  flames,  with  a  gruesome  coffin  and  other  shivery 
illuminations,  must  have  made  strong  impressions.  The 
modern  child  can  be  thankful  that  at  least  his  rimes  are 
better  and  his  illustrations  more  attractive  and  aesthetic. 


XIII 
RISE  OF  ENGLISH  SCHOOLS 

The  number  of  pupils  that  were  assigned  to  a  single 
teacher  in  colonial  times  shows  a  most  extraordinary  varia- 
tion. In  the  very  earliest  times  the  number  was  often  ex- 
tremely small,  while  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century 
the  number  exceeded  all  reason.  Thus  in  New  Haven,  in 
1660,  the  schoolmaster  reported  "that  the  number  of  schol- 
ars at  present  was  but  18  and  they  are  so  inconstant  that 
many  times  there  are  but  6  or  8."  The  report  to  the  county 
court,  made  by  the  town  of  Cambridge  on  March  31,  1680, 
reads  :  "  Our  Latin  schoolmaster  is  Mr.  Elijah  Corlett.  His 
scholars  are  in  number  9  at  present.  For  English  our  school- 
dame  is  Goodwife  Healy,  at  present  but  9  scholars.  Edward 
Hall,  English  schoolmaster,  at  present  but  3  scholars." 

Contrast  with  these  the  following:  At  Boston,  in  1741, 
the  North  Writing  School  had  280  pupils  and  two  teachers, 
the  master  and  an  usher.  Abiah  Holbrook  at  one  time  con- 
ducted a  writing  school  with  220  pupils,  and  petitioned  for 
an  assistant,  "as  he  could  not  instruct  so  many."  In  1743 
"  Mr.  Hicks  informs  that  he  has  under  his  instruction  in  the 
North  Writing  School  160  scholars,  which  number  is  more 
than  he  can  properly  attend  and  prays  that  he  may  have  an 
usher  allowed  him."  At  Marblehead,  in  1767,  the  trustees 
reported  that  about  166  scholars  attended  each  of  the  three 
schools.    There  was  one  master  for  each  school. 

Deacon  Hawes,  who  taught  shortly  after  the  Revolution, 
used  to  have  from  sixty  to  ninety  scholars.  At  Brookline,  in 
1 78 1 ,  a  comparatively  reasonable  view  was  taken.  "Whereas 
upwards  of  fifty  children  belonging  to  this  town  daily  attend  at 
school,  and  a  number  of  others  from  the  adjacent  towns  have 

305 


3o6  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

also  been  admitted  there  this  season  as  usual  for  several  years 
past,  whereby  the  whole  number  of  scholars  is  become  so 
great  that  it  cannot  be  expected  the  schoolmaster  can  teach 
them  all  with  probable  prospect  of  advantage  to  the  scholars, 
therefore  voted  :  that  Mr.  Isaac  Reed,  the  present  school- 
master, be  directed  not  to  permit  the  children  from  any  ad- 
jacent town  to  come  to  school  while  the  number  of  scholars 
belonging  to  this  town  continues  so  large  as  to  require  all 
his  attention  to  their  instruction."  A  similar  vote  was 
passed  in  1789. 

This  great  crowding  occurred  chiefly,  it  would  seem,  in 
the  English,  or  writing,  schools.  There  was  a  constant  en- 
deavor on  the  part  of  the  people  to  secure  a  practical  edu- 
cation, that  is,  reading,  writing,  and,  later  on,  arithmetic. 
The  leaders,  especially  the  clergy,  were  desirous  that  Latin 
should  be  kept  up,  and  there  was  more  or  less  of  a  struggle 
between  these  opposite  ideals.  Often  one  schoolmaster  taught 
the  pupils  both  branches,  and  occasionally  he  had  to  be  warned 
not  to  neglect  the  simpler  studies.  Thus,  Northampton  always 
had  a  grammar,  or  Latin,  schoolmaster,  but  he  taught  the 
English  branches  as  well.  In  June,  1756,  the  town  refused 
to  hire  any  but  a  grammar  schoolmaster,  but  the  selectmen 
were  ordered  to  "  direct  the  schoolmaster  that  he  spend  no 
more  time  with  the  Latin  scholars  than  their  equal  proportion 
with  other  scholars."  Nearly  twenty  years  later,  in  1775,  "the 
grammar  schoolmaster  was  again  reminded  that  he  must  not 
be  partial  to  his  Latin  and  Greek  scholars,  by  an  order  not  to 
spend  more  time  on  them  than  on  other  students."  Then,  as 
now,  teachers  usually  preferred  the  advanced  subjects. 

Another  town  that  combined  the  two  was  Plymouth,  which, 
in  1725,  "voted  that  the  grammar  school,  in  which  also  is 
to  be  taught  writing,  reading  and  arithmetic  as  usual,  be  kept 
in  the  middle  of  the  town,  near  the  meetinghouse  or  court 
house  from  the  twentieth  of  April  next,  for  the  space  of 
seven  years  next  ensuing." 


RISE  OF  ENGLISH  SCHOOLS  307 

The  following  brief  references  show  that  the  Latin  and 
English  schools  were  combined  in  the  various  towns  men- 
tioned. At  New  Haven,  in  165 1,  the  master  agi-eed  "after 
they  are  entered  and  can  read  in  the  Testament  to  perfect 
them  in  English  and  to  teach  them  their  Latin  tongue  as 
they  are  capable,  and  to  write.  After  consideration  the  town 
voted  to  accept  the  terms  propounded."  At  Dedham,  in 
1685,  the  master  was  "to  teach  such  children  as  come  to 
read  and  write  both  English  and  Latin  according  to  his 
ability  and  their  capacities."  At  Watertown,  in  1687,  "he 
taught  Latin,  English,  and  writing."  At  this  latter  town  a 
few  years  previously,  in  1679,  there  was  a  rather  curious 
division  of  the  time  allotted  for  the  different  subjects.  "  In 
June,  July  and  August  he  was  to  teach  only  Latin  and  writ- 
ing at  his  own  house,  the  other  eight  months  Latin  and 
English  scholars  at  the  schoolhouse." 

At  Salem  "  the  branches  of  instruction  in  the  Latin 
school  were  at  first  [1677]  English,  Latin,  Greek,  good 
manners  and  the  principles  of  Christian  religion.  Later 
[1699]  writing,  cyphering  and  reading  are  mentioned.  Then 
in  1 80 1  English  grammar,  composition,  and  geography  are 
mentioned."  Charlestown,  in  1679,  hired  a  master  "who  is 
to  teach  Latin,  writing,  cyphering,  and  to  perfect  children  in 
reading  English." 

Other  towns  that  have  records  of  combined  Latin  and 
English  schools  are  Cambridge,  1690  and  1691 ;  New  Lon- 
don, 1698;  Yarmouth,  171 1,  "provided  he  maybe  obtained" 
to  teach  Latin  "at  the  same  price";  Salem,  17 12;  and 
Hadley,  1743,  where  Greek  was  also  included.  Marblehead, 
1 78 1,  also  included  Greek,  as  did  Danbury  in  1763.  Dan- 
bury  also  added  "  vulgar  arithmetic."  More  ambitious  still 
was  Swansea,  which,  in  1673,  voted  "to  set  up  a  school  for 
rhetoric,  arithmetic,  Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  program  it  was  thoughtfully  added,  also  to  read 
English  and  to  write." 


308  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

The  amount  of  time  that  each  branch  could  claim  was 
carefully  settled  at  Providence  in  1767.  "That  not  exceed- 
ing two  hours  in  each  day  shall  be  taken  up  in  the  large 
school  in  perfecting  the  scholars  in  reading,  accenting,  pro- 
nouncing, and  properly  understanding  the  English  tongue. 
That  the  remaining  school  hours  shall  be  employed  in  teach- 
ing the  children  and  youth  in  writing,  arithmetic,  the  various 
branches  of  mathematics  and  the  learned  languages." 

When  the  towns  could  afford  it  or  the  number  of  pupils 
was  great,  the  preference  was  for  two  distinct  schools.  Thus, 
Barnstable,  in  1731,  "voted  that  there  be  two  teachers, 
one  of  a  grammar  school,  and  one  of  a  common  school," 
A  committee  at  Charlestown,  in  1750,  discussed  the  question 
fully.  "  We,  the  subscribers,  being  appointed  a  committee  at 
the  annual  meeting  on  the  fifth  of  March,  last,  to  provide  a 
grammar  schoolmaster  till  the  meeting  in  May,  also  to  con- 
sult whether  it  will  not  be  necessary  for  the  town  to  have  two 
schoolmasters,  one  for  grammar  and  the  other  for  writing, 
have  accordingly  attended  that  service  and  report  as  fol- 
lows :  That  we  have  agreed  with  Mr.  John  Rand  to  keep 
the  school  until  May  meeting  at  the  rate  of  20  shillings  per 
week,  and  are  of  the  opinion  that  it  will  be  greatly  for  the 
interest  of  the  town  to  have  two  schoolmasters,  one  for  teach- 
ing Latin,  the  other  for  teaching  writing  and  arithmetic,  as  it 
is  impossible  for  any  one  man  to  teach  the  children  of  the 
town  in  both  capacities,  as  they  have  experienced  in  times 
past,  and  the  advantages  the  children  reap  from  a  good  edu- 
cation are  so  great  as  we  make  no  doubt  the  town  will  readily 
fall  in  with  our  opinion." 

A  half  century  previous  in  Connecticut,  in  1 700,  the  Court 
of  Elections  ordered:  "That  there  shall  be  four  grammar 
schools  constantly  kept  by  the  four  county  towns  of  this 
colony,  viz.,  Hartford,  New  Haven,  New  London  and  Fair- 
field, and  all  other  towns  consisting  of  70  families  and  up- 
wards shall  constantly  keep  up  from  year  to  year  a  public 


RISE  OF  ENGLISH  SCHOOLS  309 

and  sufficient  school  for  the  teaching  children  to  write  and 
read,  and  that  all  towns  within  this  colony  of  any  number  of 
families  under  70  shall  keep  up  yearly  a  public  school  for 
the  teaching  to  read  and  write  for  one  half  of  the  year,  these 
schools  to  be  furnished  with  able  and  sufficient  schoolmasters 
according  to  the  law." 

The  following  extracts  refer  to  the  English  schools  and 
will  serve  to  indicate  their  development.  At  Plymouth 
Colony,  in  1663,  "it  was  proposed  by  the  court  unto  the 
several  townships  in  this  jurisdiction  as  a  thing  that  they 
ought  to  take  into  their  serious  consideration,  that  some 
course  may  be  taken  that  in  every  town  there  may  be  a 
schoolmaster  set  up  to  train  up  our  children  to  reading 
and  writing."  Action  was  taken  in  1670,  In  1668  Med- 
field  employed  a  schoolmaster  "  to  keep  a  school  for  such  of 
the  youth  as  should  come  to  him  to  learn  to  read  and  write." 
Stratford,  Connecticut,  in  1678,  voted  to  have  a  schoolmaster 
"to  teach  small  children  to  read  and  write,"  and  in  1687 
Farmington,  Connecticut,  voted  twenty  pounds  a  year  for  a 
school  "for  the  instruction  of 'all  such  children  as  shall  be 
sent  to  it,  to  learn  to  read  and  write  the  English  tongue." 

At  Dover,  in  1658,  the  contract  read,  "The  said  master 
also  to  have  to  read,  write,  cast  accounts  ...  as  the  parents 
shall  require."  In  1667  Dedham  agreed  to  employ  a  master 
"  to  teach  the  male  children  of  this  town  that  shall  be  sent 
to  him  in  English,  writing,  grammar,  and  arithmetic  for  the 
space  of  one  whole  year."  Northampton,  in  1671,  voted  to 
hire  a  master  "that  shall  be  able  and  fit  to  teach  and  instruct 
children  and  youth  to  read  English,  and  to  write  and  cast 
accounts  at  least."  At  Plymouth,  in  1670,  is  the  record,  "At 
the  said  meeting  the  said  John  Morton  proffered  to  teach  the 
children  and  youth  of  the  town  to  read  and  write  and  cast 
accounts,  on  reasonable  consideration."  At  Weymouth,  in 
1684,  the  master  was  "  to  keep  a  free  school  and  teach  all 
children  and  servants  sent  to  him  to  read,  write  and  cast 


3IO  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

accounts."  And  at  Rehoboth,  in  1699,  he  was  "  to  teach  Eng- 
lish, and  write  and  cast  accounts."  Maiden,  in  1702,  chose 
a  schoolmaster  '"  to  learn  children  and  youth  to  read  and 
write  and  to  '  Refmetick '  according  to  his  best  skill." 

After  1700  such  entries  become  too  numerous  for  ex- 
tended quotation.  The  increase  of  population,  the  spread  of 
the  idea  of  free  primary  education,  and  the  desire  for  practi- 
cal training  caused  a  great  increase  in  the  number  of  English 
schools,  which,  of  course,  corresponded  in  grade  to  our  pres- 
ent primary  and  grammar  schools.  The  old  grammar  or 
Latin  school  was  finally  developed  into  the  academy  or  high 
school,  as  circumstances  dictated. 


XIV 

PRIVATE  SCHOOLS 

Private  schools  of  one  kind  or  another  existed  from  the 
eariiest  times.  The  first  dame  schools  were  private ;  so  were 
the  schools  that  ministers  often  kept  to  prepare  boys  for 
college.  Often  schools  that  were  started  as  private  were 
aided  by  the  towns,  and  later  some  of  them  became  public 
schools.  A  notable  instance  was  that  at  Cambridge.  Here 
Mr.  Dunster,  president  of  Harvard,  had  built  a  private 
schoolhouse,  and  in  1647  the  town  had  voted,  "There  is 
liberty  granted  unto  Mr.  Dunster  to  fell  some  timber  for  the 
new  schoolhouse."  Evidently  the  school  was  soon  taken  over 
by  the  town,  for  it  is  recorded  in  1656  :  "  The  town  do  agree 
and  consent  that  there  shall  be  a  rate  made  to  the  value  of 
^108-10,  and  levied  of  the  several  inhabitants  for  the  pay- 
ment for  the  schoolhouse,  provided  that  every  man  be  allowed 
what  he  hath  already  freely  contributed  thereto,  in  part  of 
his  proportion  of  such  rate."  Finally,  in  1660,  it  was  voted : 
"As  a  final  issue  of  all  complaints  referring  to  Mr.  Dunster's 
expenses  about  the  schoolhouse,  although  in  strict  justice 
nothing  doth  appear  to  be  due,  it  being  done  by  a  voluntary 
act  of  particular  inhabitants  and  Mr.  Dunster ;  and  also  the 
town  having  otherwise  recompensed  Mr.  Dunster  for  his 
labors  and  expenses  therein,  yet  the  town,  considering  the 
case  as  it  is  now  circumstanced  and  especially  the  condi- 
tion of  his  relict  widow  and  children,  do  agree  that  ^^30 
be  levied  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  by  the  selectmen 
and  paid  to  Mr.  Dunster's  executors,  and  that  on  condition 
that  they  make  an  absolute  deed  of  sale  of  the  said  house 
and  land  to  the  town,  with  a  clear  acquittance  for  the  full 
payment  thereof." 

3" 


312  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

At  New  Haven,  in  1645,  "Mr.  Pearce,  a  private  teacher, 
desired  the  plantation  to  take  notice  that  if  any  will  send 
their  children  to  him,  he  will  instruct  them  in  writing  and 
arithmetic,  .  .  .  but  arithmetic  without  Latin  had  no  chance 
in  competition  with  Latin  without  arithmetic,  and  nothing  is 
heard  of  Mr.  Pearce's  school  afterwards." 

At  other  places  in  Connecticut,  however,  private  schools 
sometimes  interfered  with  the  public,  for  in  1670  Stamford 
made  this  agreement,  "  The  town  doth  grant  and  agree  to 
put  down  all  petty  schools  that  are  or  may  be  kept  in  the 
town  which  may  be  prejudicial  to  the  general  school."  Boston 
seems  to  have  kept  a  close  watch  on  private  schools  of  every 
kind.  In  1666  this  record  was  made,  "  Mr.  Jones  .  .  .  was 
sent  for  by  the  selectmen  for  keeping  a  school,  and  required 
to  perform  his  promise  to  the  town  in  the  winter  to  remove 
himself  and  family  in  the  spring,  and  forbidden  to  keep 
school  any  longer."  In  1667  "  Mr.  Will  Howard  has  liberty 
to  keep  a  writing  school  to  teach  children  to  write  and  to 
keep  accounts  "  ;  and  again,  in  171 2,  liberty  was  granted  to 
two  men  and  one  woman  "  to  exercise  the  keeping  of  school 
within  this  town."  The  men  were  "  Messrs.  Jacob  Sheafe 
and  Edward  Goddard,  who  were  approved  by  the  selectmen 
as  keepers  of  schools  in  this  town  for  the  teaching  youth  to 
write  &c.,  as  they  have  heretofore  done." 

The  commercial  prosperity  of  the  town  is  indicated  in  the 
first  subject  offered  in  this  permit  given  in  Boston  in  171 5, 
"  Liberty  is  granted  to  John  Sanderline  to  keep  a  school  in 
this  town  for  the  teaching  of  navigation,  writing  and  arith- 
metic." And  a  rather  peculiar  combination  was  offered  in 
1 7 19  when  it  was  voted  "  that  Mr.  Sam'l  Granger,  according 
to  his  request,  be  admitted  to  keep  school  to  teach  writing, 
logic  and  merchant's  accounts  in  this  town,  he  giving  security 
upon  his  admittance  as  an  inhabitant." 

Applications,  however,  were  not  always  favored.  In  17 16 
two  men  desired  to  open  a  dancing  school,  but  "  their  petition 


PRIVATE  SCHOOLS  313 

as  partners  to  keep  a  school  of  manners  or  dancing  school 
in  this  town,  is  disapproved  by  the  selectmen."  Sometimes 
schools  were  opened  without  a  permit  and  the  selectmen  had 
to  take  action,  as^in  17 14,  when  they  voted  to  make  complaint 
to  the  Court  of  General  Sessions  "  against  R.  Stanhope  for 
keeping  a  public  dancing  school  in  Boston  without  allowance 
and  approbation  of  the  selectmen." 

A  new  subject  appeared  in  1727,  when  Caleb  Phillips, 
teacher  of  shorthand,  was  "  admitted  to  reside  in  this  town 
and  to  exercise  his  calling,  having  given  security  to  indem- 
nify the  town  as  the  law  directs." 

Navigation  appeared  again  in  1730,  when  it  was  recorded  : 
"  On  the  petition  of  Mr.  Richard  Champion,  the  said  Richard 
Champion  has  the  allowance  and  approbation  of  the  select- 
men to  set  up  and  keep  a  school  in  the  town  of  Boston  for 
teaching  and  instructing  in  writing,  arithmetic  and  in  the  art 
of  navigation,  and  other  parts  of  the  mathematics  according 
to  his  petition  on  file."  French  was  also  mentioned  in  the 
same  year.  "In  answer  to  the  petition  of  Mr.  Langlaserie, 
liberty  is  granted  to  him  to  reside  and  inhabit  in  the  town  of 
Boston  and  to  keep  a  school  for  teaching  and  instructing  in 
the  French  tongue,  he  having  given  security  to  indemnify 
the  town  as  the  law  directs." 

A  very  curious  combination  was  offered  in  1734.  "  Upon 
a  motion  made  by  Mr.  George  Brownell  for  liberty  to  open 
a  school  for  the  instruction  of  youth  in  reading,  writing, 
cyphering,  dancing,  and  the  use  of  the  needle,  voted,  that 
Mr.  Brownell  have  liberty  granted  him  to  keep  such  a  school 
accordingly,  while  he  continues  to  regulate  the  same  in  con- 
formity to  the  laws  of  this  province  and  to  the  approbation 
of  the  selectmen  for  the  time  being."  And  in  1735  we  have 
a  very  broad  permission.  "  Whereas  Capt.  Nathaniel  Oliver 
has  applied  to  the  selectmen  for  liberty  to  keep  a  school, 
liberty  is  accordingly  granted  him  to  keep  a  school  for  the 
teaching  and  instructing  of  children  and  youth  in  reading. 


314  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

writing,  or  any  other  science,  agreeable  to  the  law  of  the 
province."  A  similar  permit  was  given  the  same  year  to  the 
Reverend  Nathaniel  Williams,  who  petitioned  for  liberty  "to 
keep  a  grammar  school  in  his  house.  Liberty  was  granted 
him  accordingly  to  keep  a  school  for  the  teaching  and  instruct- 
ing of  children  and  youth  in  reading,  writing,  or  any  other 
science,  agreeable  to  law." 

A  rather  peculiarly  worded  permit  is  this  from  Boston  in 
1736:  "Voted  the  said  Mr.  Joseph  Kent  have  liberty  to 
keep  a  school  in  this  town  for  the  teaching  and  instructing 
youth  &c.  in  mathematical  arts  and  sciences,  whilst  he  con- 
tinues to  behave  himself  to  the  approbation  of  the  selectmen 
of  the  town  for  the  time  being." 

A  glimpse  of  the  polite  accomplishments  of  the  period  is 
afforded  in  a  record  of  1737,  when  "  Mr.  Peter  Pelham  pre- 
sented a  petition  praying  for  liberty  to  open  a  school  in  this 
town  for  the  education  of  children  in  reading,  writing,  needle 
work,  dancing,  and  the  art  of  paintirxg  upon  glass  &c."  The 
petition  was  granted. 

About  this  time  private  schools  seem  to  have  flourished. 
In  1738  "Mr.  Ebenezer  Swan  appearing,  prays  that  liberty 
may  be  granted  him  to  open  a  school  in  this  town  for  teach- 
ing writing,  arithmetic  and  merchants'  accounts."  The  re- 
quest was  granted.  There  were  many  similar  applications 
every  year,  but  not  all  were  allowed.  In  1744,  for  instance, 
when  Peter  Gebande  asked  to  open  a  school  "  for  teaching 
of  the  Latin  and  French  languages,"  it  was  voted  "that  he 
be  not  allowed  to  keep  any  school  in  this  town."  Mr.  John 
Trevett  also  appeared  and  "  desired  liberty  to  set  up  a  school 
in  this  town  to  teach  writing  and  arithmetic."  The  request 
was  denied.  John  Swinerton  "  prays  that  he  may  keep  a  free 
school  for  the  learning  of  children  to  spell  and  read.  .  .  . 
Voted  that  the  same  be  dismissed." 

Action  was  taken  against  one  who  had  neglected  to  secure 
permission  in    1737.     "  Mr.  Savell  is  ordered  to   acquaint 


PRIVATE  SCHOOLS  315 

Mr.  Scammell,  who  has  opened  a  mathematical  school  at 
the  north  end  of  the  town,  as  appears  by  his  printed  adver- 
tisement, that  his  so  doing  before  he  has  obtained  the 
approbation  of  the  selectmen,  is  contrary  to  law." 

The  various  "  advanced  mathematics  "  of  those  times  are 
mentioned  in  the  following  permit,  granted  in  Boston  in 
1742  :  "Voted  that  Mr.  Nathan  Prince  be  admitted  an  in- 
habitant of  this  town  according  to  his  motion  made  the  i6th 
instant,  and  that  he  have  liberty  to  open  a  school  in  this 
town  for  the  instructing  any  persons  who  are  desirous  of  it, 
in  the  following  arts  and  sciences,  viz.,  in  arithmetic,  the 
elements  of  geometry,  and  algebra,  in  trigonometry  and 
navigation,  in  the  arts  of  dialling,  surveying,  gauging,  and 
other  kinds  of  mensuration,  in  astronomy  and  geography 
with  the  use  of  the  globes,  and  in  the  several  kinds  of  the 
projection  of  the  sphere,  as  also  in  the  general  principles 
and  rules  of  fortification  and  gunnery,  together  with  lectures 
on  history  and  natural  philosophy,  agreeable  to  his  petition 
presented  on  the  i6th  instant." 

The  following  notice  is  brief:  Boston,  in  1744,  "voted 
that  liberty  be  granted  to  Mr.  Abia  Holbrook  to  keep  a 
private  school,  to  teach  youth  the  rules  of  Psalmody." 

Evening  schools  are  described  in  the  following  advertise- 
ment, which  combines  education  and  business  in  a  rather 
striking  way.  It  is  from  the  Boston  News  Letter  of  Sep- 
tember 12,  1748.  "Mr.  Pelham's  writing  and  arithmetic 
school  near  the  town  house,  during  the  winter  season,  will 
be  open  from  candle  light  till  nine  in  the  evening,  as  usual, 
for  the  benefit  of  those  employed  in  business  all  the  day ; 
and  at  his  dwelling  house,  near  the  Quakers'  meetinghouse 
in  Lindell's  Row,  all  persons  may  be  supplied  with  the  best 
Virginia  tobacco,  cut,  spun  in  the  very  best  pig  tail,  and  all 
other  sorts ;  also  snuff  at  the  cheapest  rate." 

The  following  case  of  partial  permission  is  interesting :  in 
1749  Edward  Cheever,  son  of  Thomas  Cheever,  "  presented 


310  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

a  petition  to  the  selectmen,  praying  liberty  to  open  a  school 
in  this  town  to  teach  youth  the  Latin  tongue,  to  read,  write 
and  cypher,"  It  was  voted  that  he  "  have  liberty  to  keep  a 
school  to  teach  children  to  read  in  the  English  tongue." 
Evidently  the  selectmen  would  not  allow  any  interference 
with  their  Latin  school. 

That  the  town  was  as  careful  of  admitting  citizens  and 
pupils  as  it  was  in  licensing  teachers  is  shown  by  the  follow- 
ing entry  in  1739  :  "  Mrs.  Curtis,  the  wife  of  Capt.  William 
Curtis,  mariner,  now  at  sea,  appeared  and  informs  that  she 
has  lived  in  this  town  five  months,  and  desires  she  may  have 
the  privilege  of  educating  her  children  in  the  free  schools 
of  the  town,  in  order  to  which  she  was  directed  to  procure 
bondsmen  to  indemnify  the  town  according  to  the  law  in  that 
case  provided,  in  the  sum  or  penalty  of  two  hundred  pounds." 

After  the  Revolution  private  schools  became  even  more 
numerous.  The  years  from  1790  to  1795  show  an  especially 
-large  number.  Many  were  for  the  ordinary  branches,  but 
there  were  many  also  for  navigation,  bookkeeping,  and  simi- 
lar subjects,  made  necessary  by  the  commercial  growth  of  the 
colonies,  and  also  schools  for  dancing  and  other  accomplish- 
ments. Evening  schools  became  more  common.  In  Salem 
"an  evening  school  of  a  private  character  was  taught  in 
1770  and  again  in  1772.  Mr.  Steward  proposed  to  instruct 
twelve  poor  boys  from  January  to  April,  1774,  on  Monday, 
Wednesday,  and  Friday  evenings.  His  compensation  came 
from  the  Brown  fund,  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  com- 
mittee." Also  at  Norwich,  Connecticut,  it  was  recorded, 
"  In  1774  Thomas  Ayre  advertises  to  teach  an  evening 
school  at  the  rate  of  one  shilling  per  week  for  a  class  of 
not  less  than  ten  pupils." 

The  following,  from  Boston  in  1786,  has  been  called  the 
first  evening  school,  but  the  advertisement  of  a  much  earlier 
one  has  already  been  quoted :  "Mr,  James  Leach  asks  the  ap- 
probation of  the  selectmen  for  opening  a  school  for  teaching 


PRIVATE  SCHOOLS  317 

arithmetic  on  evenings,  and  also  asks  leave  for  making  use 
of  Mr.  Davis'  school  on  every  evening  of  the  week  save 
one."  It  was  voted  not  to  approve  "unless  he  is  well  recom- 
mended," but  permission  was  granted  later.  The  next  year 
"  Mr,  Eikanah  Hawkes  has  liberty  granted  to  open  an  eve- 
ning school  for  the  instruction  of  youth  in  writing  &c." 

A  touch  of  modem  enterprise  is  seen  in  the  following 
report  from  Boston  (1755),  when  an  advertiser  proposed  to 
teach  "  persons  of  both  sexes  from  twelve  to  fifty  years  of 
age,  who  never  wrote  before,  to  write  a  good  hand  in  five 
weeks,  at  one  hour  per  day,  at  his  house  in  Long  Lane." 

Masters  were  allowed  to  teach  in  their  spare  time,  and  in 
1784  the  town  fixed  the  price.  "The  town  having  passed  a 
vote  at  their  last  meeting  that  the  selectmen  shall  affix  the 
sum  the  masters  of  the  public  writing  schools  shall  receive 
for  instructing  youth  at  private  hours,  they,  having  considered 
the  matter,  do  affix  the  price  of  instruction  in  private  hours 
at  twenty  shillings  per  quarter  for  each  scholar."  In  the  same 
year  a  man  petitioned  for  liberty  to  set  up  a  school  "to  teach 
youth  to  write,  cypher,  English  grammar,  &c.  Liberty  is  accord- 
ingly granted  upon  conditions  of  his  complying  with  the  orders 
of  the  town  with  respect  to  the  price  of  teaching  scholars." 

The  town  still  kept  up  its  warfare  on  unauthorized  schools. 
In  1765  "  the  selectmen  upon  reading  an  advertisement  in  the 
Thursday  newspaper  that  one  Richard  Venables  had  opened 
a  dancing  school  at  the  Green  Dragon  tavern,  directed  Mr. 
Williston  to  require  his  attendance  at  their  chamber.  He  at- 
tended accordingly  and  was  informed  by  the  selectmen  that 
they  should  not  permit  his  keeping  such  a  school  in  this 
town."  And  again,  in  1780,  "the  selectmen  have  deter- 
mined that  in  case  application  is  not  made  to  the  selectmen 
within  ten  days  for  their  approbation  of  Mr.  Pond's  keeping 
school  in  this  town,  a  prosecution  shall  be  entered  against 
him."  A  petition  for  liberty  to  open  an  English  grammar 
school  was  entered  within  a  week  and  was  granted. 


3l8  EARL^  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Dancing  schools  seem  to  have  been  watched  with  especial 
care.  In  1766  "Mr.  William  Pope  from  Bermudas,  who 
professes  himself  a  teacher  of  dancing  and  fencing,  attended 
and  begged  leave  of  the  selectmen  to  keep  a  school  in  this 
town  for  the  instruction  of  youth  in  those  sciences."  The 
petition  was  granted  ""  for  so  long  a  time  and  no  longer  as 
his  behaviour  shall  meet  the  approbation  of  the  selectmen." 
In  Boston,  in  1795,  also,  "  Mr.  Dupont  has  been  requested 
in  writing  to  attend  at  the  selectmen's  chamber  on  Wednes- 
day next  on  account  of  his  advertising  his  keeping  a  school 
and  teaching  dancing  on  Saturday  evenings,  that  he  may  be 
informed  of  the  previous  steps  which  should  have  been  taken 
by  him  previous  to  such  an  advertisement."  He  appeared, 
and  the  permission  was  granted. 

This  entry  of  1 798  is  noteworthy  as  taking  up  the  educa- 
tion of  the  negro:  "Mr.  Elisha  Sylvester,  having  been  well 
recommended,  is  permitted  to  open  a  school  in  this  town  for 
the  instruction  of  youth,  more  especially  of  African  youth,  in 
reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic." 

Most  of  the  extracts  given  above,  it  will  be  noticed,  are 
from  the  records  of  Boston.  It  was  natural  that  the  largest 
and  wealthiest  city  of  New  England  should  be  the  center  of 
private-school  work,  especially  in  the  more  advanced  and 
uncommon  branches.  But  private  schools  were  to  be  found 
in  other  towns  and  colonies.  In  Connecticut,  in  1742,  it  was 
considered  necessary  to  control  them  by  law.  "  Whereas  the 
erecting  of  any  other  schools  which  are  not  under  the  estab- 
lishment and  inspection  aforesaid  may  tend  to  train  up  youth 
in  ill  principles  and  practises,  and  introduce  such  disorders  as 
may  be  of  fatal  consequence  to  the  public  peace  and  weal  of 
this  colony,"  it  was  ordered  "  that  no  particular  persons 
whatsoever  shall  presume  of  themselves  to  erect,  establish, 
set  up,  keep  or  maintain  any  college,  seminary  of  learning, 
or  any  public  school  whatsoever,  for  the  instruction  of  young 
persons,  other  than  such  as  are  erected  and  established  or 


PRIVATE  SCHOOLS  319 

allowed  by  the  laws  of  this  colony,  without  special  license  or 
liberty  first  had  and  obtained  of  this  assembly."  The  penalty 
was  "five  pounds  lawful  money  per  month  for  every  month 
he  shall  continue  to  act  as  aforesaid." 

Private  schools  were  sometimes  sanctioned  by  the  towns  as 
schools  that  fulfilled  the  colony  law  requiring  the  establish- 
ment of  public  schools.  Thus,  at  Stamford,  Connecticut,  in 
1702,  where  a  private  school  was  kept  by  Samuel  Holley,  the 
town  clerk,  it  was  voted  :  "  That  the  town  doth  say  that  they 
doth  accept  the  present  school  kept  by  the  person  to  teach 
to  read  English,  and  to  write,  and  arithmetic,  as  a  school 
according  to  law." 

Navigation  as  a  subject  is  found  at  Norwich,  Connecticut. 
"  In  October,  1787,  Newcomb  Kenny  advertises  that  he  has 
opened  a  school  in  a  large,  convenient  room  in  Capt.  Bela 
Peck's  house,  where  he  will  teach  reading,  writing,  English 
grammar,  composition,  geography,  with  the  use  of  the  terres- 
trial globe,  book-keeping  by  single  and  double  entry,  arith- 
metic, geometry,  trigonometry,  navigation,  and  surveying  by 
actual  survey.  He  will  also  obtain  board  for  pupils  in  a  rep- 
utable house  at  six  shillings  per  week  and  will  accept  country 
produce  or  West  India  goods  in  payment." 

At  Charlestown,  in  1749,  "the  selectmen  approbated  and 
allowed  Mr,  Matthew  Cushing  to  keep  a  private  school  in  this 
town  to  instruct  youth  in  reading,  writing,  and  cyphering,  and 
other  science,  he  having  been  recommended  as  a  person  of 
sober  and  good  conversation." 

The  prices  charged  for  private  tuition  seem  to  have  been 
very  reasonable,  for  at  Amherst,  in  1766,  the  master  "  in  the 
winter  evenings  kept  cyphering  schools  a  few  weeks  at  one 
shilling  an  evening," 

The  following  advertisement  of  a  private  school  is  inter- 
esting for  its  completeness  and  definiteness.  It  is  from  the 
Farmers  Journal  of  Connecticut  in  1 79 1.  "A  school  will 
be  opened  in  Danbury  by  the  subscriber  near  the  bridge,  on 


320  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Monday  the  23rd  instant,  May,  to  continue  three  months, 
consisting  of  thirty  scholars,  each  to  pay  for  the  time  he 
comes  his  proportion  of  nine  pounds,  lawful  money,  the  one 
half  in  cash  or  grain  at  the  market  price,  by  the  first  day  of 
December  next  ensuing,  and  the  other  half  in  any  kind  of 
mechanic's  or  farmer's  labor,  in  the  present  season.  The 
following  branches  are  taught  in  said  school,  viz.,  spelling, 
reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic.  For  further  particulars  and 
entrance  apply  to  Ezra  Barnum. 

"  P.S.  All  persons  who  have  accounts  open  with  the  sub- 
scriber of  more  than  six  months'  standing,  are  requested  to 
settle  the  same  without  further  notice. 

"  N.B.  A  boy  or  girl  under  ten  years  of  age  may  be  boarded 
at  three  shillings  per  week  if  the  pay  may  be  depended  upon. 

"  Ezra  Barnum." 

The  beginning  of  a  private  school  which  afterwards  became 
a  public  one  is  detailed  in  the  diary  of  the  Reverend  Joseph 
Green  of  Danvers  in  1708.  "Meeting  of  the  inhabitants. 
I  speak  with  several  about  building  a  schoolhouse.  I  went 
into  the  town-meeting  and  said  to  this  effect ;  '  Neighbors,  I 
am  about  building  a  schoolhouse  for  the  good  education  of 
our  children,  and  have  spoken  to  several  of  the  neighbors 
who  are  willing  to  help  it  forward,  so  that  I  hope  we  shall 
quickly  finish  it.  And  I  speak  of  it  here  that  so  every  one 
that  can  have  any  benefit  may  have  opportunity  for  so  good  a 
service.'  Some  replied  that  it  was  a  new  thing  to  them  and 
they  desired  to  know  where  it  should  stand  and  what  the 
design  of  it  was.  To  them  I  answered  that  Deacon  Ingersoll 
would  give  land  for  it  to  stand  on,  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
training  field,  and  that  I  designed  to  have  a  good  school- 
master to  teach  their  children  to  read  and  write  and  cypher, 
and  everything  that  is  good.  Many  commended  the  design 
and  none  objected  to  it."  A  note  on  this  passage  adds : 
"  The  schoolhouse  erected  on  the  training  field  now  known 
as  the  Common,  in  Danvers  Center,  was  the  first  in  Danvers. 


XV 

GOVERNMENT  OF  SCHOOLS 

In  the  earliest  times  the  management  of  the  schools  was 
directly  in  the  hands  of  the  towns,  and  all  details  —  salaries, 
for  instance  —  were  settled  by  vote  at  the  town  meetings. 
Often  committees  were  appointed,  but  these  were  for  tem- 
porary purposes  only,  to  get  information  or  to  carry  out  the 
wishes  of  the  voters.  As  the  population  increased  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  designate  the  selectmen  as  a  committee  to  carry  on 
the  schools.  Frequently  other  persons,  especially  ministers, 
were  joined  with  them.  Later  the  selectmen  or  the  mixed  com- 
mittees were  superseded  by  special  school  committees  elected 
by  the  voters.  While  this  order  seems  to  be  the  normal  and 
regular  one  there  are  various  deviations  and  omissions,  and 
the  precise  development  in  some  places  is  not  easy  to  trace. 
Some  of  the  earliest  schools  were  endowed,  partially  at  least, 
and  their  management  was  put  in  the  hands  of  trustees,  or 
feoffees,  as  they  were  called.  Thus  in  Dorchester,  in  1645,  is 
this  record  of  an  endowed  grammar  school :  "And  for  the 
well  ordering  thereof  they  have  chosen  and  elected  seven 
feoffees  who  shall  have  power  to  put  in  or  remove  the  school- 
master, to  see  to  the  well  ordering  of  the  school  and  scholars, 
to  receive  and  pay  the  said  twenty  pounds  per  annum  to  the 
schoolmaster,  and  to  dispose  of  any  other  gift  or  gifts  which 
hereafter  may  or  shall  be  given  for  the  advancement  of 
learning  and  education  of  children." 

A  year  before  in  the  same  town  "there  were  wardens  ap>- 
pointed  to  take  care  of  and  manage  the  affairs  of  the  school  ; 
they  were  to  see  that  both  the  master  and  scholar  performed 
their  duty  and  to  judge  of  and  end  any  difference  that  might 

321 


322  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

arise  between  master  and  scholar  and  their  parents,  accord- 
ing to  sundry  rules  and  directions  there  set  down."  Dorchester 
claims  these  three  wardens  to  be  the  first  school  committee 
in  America,  though  it  would  seem  that  they  were  more  like 
the  feoffees  elected  the  following  year.  That  it  was  not  a  real 
school  committee  in  the  modern  sense  is  shown  by  a  vote  in 
1683,  which  states  ""  that  the  selectmen  shall  have  full  power 
to  hire  a  schoolmaster  for  the  year  ensuing." 

Another  very  early  record  is  that  of  New  Haven  in  1641. 
At  the  town  meeting  "  it  was  ordered  that  a  free  school 
shall  be  set  up  in  this  town  and  our  pastor,  Mr.  Davenport, 
together  with  the  magistrates,  shall  consider  what  yearly 
allowance  is  meet  to  be  given  to  it  put  of  the  treasury  of  the 
town."  This  is  an  early  instance  of  the  tendency  to  make 
joint  committees  of  the  selectmen  and  prominent  citizens, 
especially  ministers. 

Still  earlier  is  the  brief  record  at  Charlestown,  in  1637, 
when  there  was  a  "  committee  chosen  to  settle  schoolmaster 
Wetherell's  wages." 

The  hiring  of  a  master  and  agreement  as  to  his  salary 
were  naturally  very  often  intrusted  to  committees,  though 
many  times  the  salary  and  even  the  selection  of  the  teacher 
were  settled  by  direct  vote  in  the  town  meeting,  as  shown  in 
the  chapters  on  schoolmasters  and  salaries. 

"  Government  by  committee  "  is  shown  at  Newbury,  in 
1652,  when  it  was  voted  that  a  special  committee  of  four 
"  should  be  a  committee  for  the  managing  the  business  of 
the  school."  Again  in  1677  there  was  a  committee  "  to  hire 
the  schoolmaster."  In  1687,  also,  a  committee  chosen  by  the 
town  "agreed  with  Mr.  Seth  Shove  to  be  the  Latin  school- 
master for  the  town  of  Newbury  for  the  present  year." 

A  greater  confidence  in  the  selectmen  than  usual  is 
shown  at  Meriden,  Connecticut,  where  in  1678  "the  town 
leaves  the  matter  of  schools  with  the  selectmen  to  promote 
the  same  according  to  law,"  and  later,  when  the  selectmen 


GOVERNMENT  OF  SCHOOLS  323 

had  reported,  the  town  made  an  appropriation  to  meet  the 
recommendations  which  they  had  made. 

The  extent  to  which  the  towns  usually  delegated  their 
authority  to  selectmen  or  committees  is  shown  by  the  follow- 
ing vote  at  Dedham  in  1652.  "The  question  concerning 
the  school  being  kept  only  in  winter  being  proposed  for  reso- 
lution ;  the  answer  is,  that  the  selectmen  that  shall  be  this 
day  chosen  shall  attend  to  procure  a  fit  schoolmaster  at  the 
beginning  of  the  summer,  and  if  it  prove  difficult  or  not  to 
be  attained  they  may  propose  the  case  to  the  town  for 
further  resolution." 

Still  more  to  the  point  was  the  vote  at  Newport  on  August 
18,  1708,  when  an  "adjourned  quarterly  meeting"  voted 
"  that  the  town  council  of  Newport  are  empowered  to  take 
the  schoolhouse  into  their  hands  to  manage  all  the  pruden- 
tial affairs  belonging  to  said  house,  always  reserving  to  the 
quarterly  meeting  in  said  town  the  power  of  choosing  the 
schoolmasters  for  said  house,  always  provided  that  the  free- 
men of  said  town,  assembled  in  their  quarterly  meeting,  have 
power  further  to  alter  or  order  the  above  premises  and  that 
the  .  .  .  power  always  be  invested  therein." 

Again,  towns  frequently,  in  placing  the  schools  in  the 
hands  of  the  selectmen,  gave  them  certain  explicit  direc- 
tions. Norwich  did  this  in  1680,  when  the  school  was  com- 
mitted to  the  selectmen  with  these  injunctions  : 

"  First,  that  parents  send  their  children. 

"  Second,  that  they  pay  their  proportion  according  to  what 
is  judged  just. 

"  Third,  that  they  take  care  that  parents  be  not  oppressed, 
especially  such  who  are  disabled." 

At  Salem,  in  1670,  it  was  voted  that  "  the  selectmen  shall 
take  care  to  provide  a  grammar  schoolmaster  and  agree  with 
him  for  his  maintenance,"  and  later  in  the  year  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  agree  with  Daniel  Epes,  Jr.  Here,  while 
schools  were  often  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  selectmen,  the 


324  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

town  did  not  relinquish  fully  into  their  hands  the  control  of 
the  schools,  but  only  so  far  as  they  gave  directions  and 
authority.  The  town,  in  its  communication  to  the  selectmen, 
said,  "  You  shall  give  the  grammar  schoolmaster  such  instruc- 
tions and  directions  as  you  shall  think  needful  for  regulation 
of  the  school."  This  was  in  1699.  Again,  at  the  same  place, 
"  originally  it  was  the  custom  for  the  voters  to  manage  the 
schools  at  the  town  meetings.  As  schools  grew  more  numer- 
ous, and  more  frequent  attention  to  details  was  required,  it 
was  found  impossible  to  exercise  proper  control  in  this  way. 
The  selectmen  were  first  intrusted  with  this  responsibility ; 
but  in  1 7 1 2  an  occasion  called  for  a  board  of  committee,  the 
selection  of  a  teacher  for  the  Latin  school."  Five  men  were 
chosen.  '"  Samuel  Browne,  in  1729,  stipulated  that  the  schools 
upon  which  his  donations  were  bestowed  should  be  committed 
to  men  chosen  for  that  special  duty." 

Appointments  of  special  committees,  or  of  selectmen,  or 
of  both,  to  secure  teachers,  are  extremely  numerous.  The 
following  arc  all  dated  before  the  eighteenth  century.  At 
Stamford,  in  167 1,  a  committee  of  three  was  appointed  "to 
treat  and  if  they  can  so  agree  with  Mr.  Rider  to  teach  school 
in  the  town."  At  Beverly,  in  1686,  "further  it  was  then 
agreed  that  the  new  selectmen,  with  the  assistance  of  Capt. 
William  Rayment  and  Corporal  Thomas  West,  as  a  com- 
mittee were  chosen  to  agree  with  said  schoolmaster  "  about 
his  salary  and  other  details. 

At  Dedham,  in  1690,  a  committee  of  two  "  are  desired  to 
agree  with  Thomas  Batteley  to  keep  the  school  and  also  to 
procure  a  convenient  house  room  to  keep  the  school  in,"  and 
in  1 69 1  a  committee  of  one  "is  desired  and  appointed  to 
agree  with  Sir  Lord  of  Charlestown  to  keep  the  school  in 
this  town  for  one  year." 

At  Wobum,  in  1692,  "a  committee  of  three  was  chosen 
to  enquire  for  and  treat  with  some  suitable  person "  for 
schoolmaster,  and  at  Yarmouth,  in  1693,  a  committee  was 


GOVERNMENT  OF  SCHOOLS  325 

appointed  ■"  to  agree  with  some  fit  person  to  teach  school." 
Later,  in  1699,  a  large  committee  was  "on  the  lookout"  for 
a  schoolmaster.  At  Rehoboth,  in  1698,  "the  town  voted 
that  a  schoolmaster  as  the  law  directs  should  be  attained,  and 
the  selectmen  should  endeavor  the  gaining  one,  and  likewise 
agree  with  him  when  attained,  for  his  encouragement  to  keep 
school." 

Some  of  the  reasons  for  denying  the  selectmen  full  power 
are  hinted  at  in  the  following  passage  concerning  Springfield  : 
"  In  January,  1694,  the  town  empowered  the  selectmen  to  hire 
the  schoolmaster,  a  circumstance  worthy  of  note,  as  it  was  no 
unusual  thing  to  devote  to  the  position  of  selectmen  men 
who  could  not  write.  Miles  Morgan  was  an  example ;  his 
'  mark  '  was  a  rudely  drawn  anchor." 

At  the  same  town,  in  1709,  three  men  "were  sent  abroad 
to  bring  schoolmaster  John  Sherman  to  the  village."  Does 
this  mean  that  they  intended  him  great  honor,  or  was  it  an 
old-time  "  junketing  tour  "  ? 

Some  friend  of  Newton  claims  that,  in  1706,  three  men 
were  chosen  as  a  school  committee,  and  "  that  they  were 
chosen  annually  ever  after."  If  this  is  correct,  Newton  was 
the  first  place  to  have  a  regular  school  committee,  but  confir- 
mation of  this  report  has  not  been  found. 

Throughout  the  eighteenth  century  there  is  a  steady  drift 
toward  delegating  the  management  of  the  schools  to  com- 
mittees. Instances  are  so  numerous  that  a  few  illustrations 
will  be  sufficient.  Thus,  Charlestown  seems  tp  have  given 
school  matters  to  committees  for  settlement  very  frequently. 
In  1728,  1750,  and  1791  there  are  reports  of  such  com- 
mittees, showing  that  the  schools  were  given  special  consid- 
eration.   These  reports  are  in  the  records. 

Brookline  also  shows  the  process  of  development.  In 
1723  it  was  "voted  that  there  should  be  trustees  to  manage 
the  affairs  of  the  schools  in  the  said  town";  in  1727  it 
was  voted  that  four  men  "  be  added  to  the  selectmen  as  a 


326  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

committee  to  bring  the  schools  into  some  good  method  " ;  in 
1730  a  committee  of  three  was  chosen  to  provide  masters 
and  dames ;  in  1 79 1  one  clergyman  and  two  other  men 
"were  chosen  to  examine  the  schools  on  the  last  Wednes- 
day in  October  next  and  on  the  last  Wednesday  in  every 
quarter  through  the  year"  ;  and  in  1823  it  was  "voted  that 
the  school  committee  have  a  joint  power  with  the  selectmen 
in  regulating  the  schools." 

Many  towns  have  a  series  of  votes  showing  this  develop- 
ment. A  few  instances  are  given.  Hartford  is  one  of  the 
earliest.  In  1661  "at  the  same  meeting,  by  the  vote  of  the 
town,  the  four  men  that  are  called  the  townsmen  are  re- 
quested to  agree  with  a  schoolmaster  for  this  present  winter, 
and  longer  for  the  summer  if  they  see  meet,  and  to  hire  a 
house  for  the  keeping  the  school  for  the  time  promised,  at 
the  town  charge."  In  1665  it  was  "voted  by  the  town  that 
the  committee  for  the  school  should  have  liberty  to  build  a 
schoolhouse."  In  1700  "four  men  were  chosen  a  committee 
for  the  management  of  the  prudentials  of  the  school  in  Hart- 
ford," and  "the  town  by  their  vote  do  empower  the  com- 
mittee chosen  for  the  school  above  to  place  or  displace  the 
schoolmaster."    In  1 705  there  was  a  school  committee  of  five. 

These  committees  had  no  power  except  such  as  was  dele- 
gated by  the  direct  vote  of  the  towns.  They  had  no  power 
under  a  general  law. 

Deerfield  used  special  committees  and  the  selectmen  indis- 
criminately. In  1698  it  was  voted  "that  a  committee  shall 
be  chosen  to  look  after  the  building  of  said  schoolhouse  and 
to  hire  a  schoolmaster."  There  were  three  men  on  this  first 
committee.  In  1 700  a  school  committee  of  three  was  chosen 
"  whose  work  shall  be  to  hire  a  meet  person  or  persons  to 
^each  the  town's  children  to  read  and  write,  as  also  to  repair 
the  town's  schoolhouse  at  their  discretion,  which  is  to  be  re- 
paired at  the  town's  charge  ;  as  also  to  proportion  the  provid- 
ing of  firewood  to  the  scholars."     In   1720  "at  the  same 


GOVERNMENT  OF  SCHOOLS  327 

meeting  the  town  made  choice  [of  three  men]  to  be  as  a 
committee  for  the  concerns  of  the  school,  to  hire  a  school- 
master, to  hire  a  schoolhouse,  or  whatever  is  proper  for  a 
school  committee  to  do."  But  in  1722  "the  selectmen  were 
authorized  to  hire  a  schoolhouse,  and  hire  a  schoolmaster  to 
teach  reading,  writing,  and  cyphering  for  half  a  year,"  and  in 
1724  it  was  "voted  that  a  schoolmaster  be  hired  for  the  year 
ensuing  and  that  the  selectmen  shall  take  care  to  hire  some 
fit  person  to  learn  youth  to  read  and  cypher."  In  1740  and 
1742,  also,  the  selectmen  were  made  a  committee  to  look 
after  school  matters. 

Duxbury  veered  from  the  selectmen  to  special  committees. 
Thus,  in  1731,  "the  said  town  also  voted  that  the  selectmen 
should  take  care  to  provide  a  schoolmaster  for  them  for  the 
year  ensuing."  The  same  vote  was  passed  the  next  year.  In 
1735,  however,  the  town  chose  three  men  "agents,  to  pro- 
cure a  schoolmaster  for  the  said  town  and  to  make  their 
report  to  the  said  town  at  their  next  town  meeting  of  their 
doings  therein,  the  said  schoolmaster  to  serve  for  one  year 
next  ensuing."  The  following  two  years,  also,  three  agents 
were  chosen,  while  in  1742  one  man  was  chosen  agent  "to 
procure  a  schoolmaster,"  and  this  practice  continued  for  some 
years,  to  1752. 

Haverhill,  in  171 2,  had  committees  to  build  the  school- 
houses,  but  the  selectmen  were  directed  to  provide  the 
schoolmasters.  In  1789  it  was  "voted  to  choose  a  com- 
mittee to  inspect  the  schools."  This  committee  consisted  of 
the  "  settled  clergymen  and  selectmen  "  and  five  prominent 
citizens.  It  was  "voted  the  above  committee  visit  the  schools 
quarterly  and  make  report  to  the  town  at  their  annual  March 
and  fall  meetings."  This  was  the  first  school  committee  in 
Haverhill,  and  it  has  been  continued  ever  since. 

At  Providence,  in  1752,  a  committee  of  five  was  appointed 
"to  have  the  care  of  the  town  schoolhouse,  and  to  appoint  a 
master  to  teach  in  said  house."    Later,  in  1767,  a  committee 


328  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

was  named  to  consider  the  whole  school  question  and  report. 
Some  of  their  recommendations  show  a  decided  advance  in 
educational  opinion.  They  advised  "that  a  school  commit- 
tee shall  be  annually  chosen  of  persons  dwelling  in  different 
parts  of  the  town,  who  are  hereby  clothed  with  ample  power 
and  authority  from  time  to  time  to  appoint  masters  and 
ushers,  in  all  or  any  of  the  schools,  and  to  pass  certificates 
to  the  town  treasurer  for  their  receiving  the  same."  Com- 
plaints, removals  of  masters,  and  the  care  and  repair  of 
schoolhouses  were  to  be  delegated  to  them.  These  recom- 
mendations embody  most  of  the  powers  and  duties  of  school 
committees  which  came  in  later  years  by  slow  processes. 
Disputes  on  qualifications  of  pupils  were  also  to  be  referred 
to  the  committee.  This  report,  however,  was  not  accepted 
by  the  town. 

Dudley,  in  1744,  voted  two  men  "  a  committee  to  provide 
a  schoolmaster  for  the  center  of  the  town  and  a  place  for  him 
to  board  at."  Dudley  seems  to  have  used  special  committees 
from  the  first,  and  not  the  selectmen.  Votes  similar  to  the 
above  are  found  all  through  the  records.  In  the  town  warrant 
for  175 1  is  the  item,  "  To  choose  a  school  committee  for  the 
year  ensuing."  In  1754  the  school  committee  consisted  of 
seven  members.  There  is  no  special  record  in  the  next 
forty  years. 

A  series  of  votes  at  Framingham,  extending  over  nearly  a 
hundred  years,  shows  a  constant  employment  of  special  com- 
mittees. The  town,  in  1 706,  decided  to  have  a  schoolmaster 
and  voted  that  a  committee  of  two  "  should  agree  with  him 
what  he  should  have  for  his  pains."  In  1717  "a  committee 
was  appointed  to  indent  with  a  schoolmaster  as  by  law  is 
directed,  for  one  quarter  of  a  year."  Again,  in  1724,  it  was 
voted  '"  that  the  committee  to  hire  a  schoolmaster  shall  first 
treat  with  a  scholar  of  the  college ;  that  they  treat  with  Sir 
James  Stone  and  acquaint  him  that  the  town  is  desirous  to 
enjoy  him  as  their  schoolmaster."    A  schoolhouse  was  built 


GOVERNMENT  OF  SCHOOLS  329 

there  and  a  committee  of  three  was  formed  to  "  take  care  of 
the  schoolhouse  that  it  may  not  be  damnified  upon  Sabbath 
days,"  a  pecuhar  duty,  surely.  Years  after,  in  1800,  a  com- 
mittee of  nine  was  appointed  "  to  draw  up  by-laws  for  regu- 
lating the  schools,"  and  in  1802  "it  was  made  the  duty  of 
the  school  committee  to  examine  the  schoolmasters  and  mis- 
tresses and  to  visit  the  several  schools." 

Lunenburg,  in  1732,  voted  that  three  men  "be  a  com- 
mittee to  provide  a  school  and  schoolmaster  for  to  teach 
children  and  youth  to  read  and  write,  and  if  the  committee 
see  good  to  hire  a  grammar  schoolmaster,  they  shall  have 
the  liberty,  provided  they  pay  the  overplus  charge  of  what 
the  keeping  of  a  grammar  school  would  be  more  than  the 
charge  of  keeping  an  English  school."  In  1735  it  was 
"  voted  that  the  selectmen  be  a  committee  fully  empowered 
to  make  due  provision  and  provide  for  a  school."  In  1737 
it  was  voted  "  that  the  committee  be  paid  for  their  time 
spent  in  hiring  a  schoolmaster."  Three  were  appointed. 
After  1738  committees  were  appointed  almost  every  year 
to  attend  to  the  schools.  That  duty  was  seldom  left  to  the 
selectmen  in  this  town. 

Mr.  Page  gives  this  account  of  Cambridge  :  "  The  earliest 
record  which  I  have  found  of  the  election  of  a  school  com- 
mittee is  dated  May  21,  1744,  when  it  was  voted  that  five 
gentlemen  '  be  a  committee  to  inspect  the  grammar  school  in 
this  town,  and  to  enquire,  at  such  times  as  they  shall  think 
meet,  what  proficiency  the  youth  and  children  make  in  their 
learning.'  Again,  on  May  7,  1770,  it  was  'voted,  that  a 
committee  of  nine  persons  be  and  hereby  are  fully  em- 
powered to  choose  a  grammar  schoolmaster  for  said  town, 
.  .  .  and  that  said  committee  be  a  committee  of  inspection 
upon  the  said  schoolmaster  and  that  said  committee  be  and 
hereby  are  empowered  to  regulate  said  school.' 

"  Generally,  however,  the  schools  were  under  the  charge 
of  the  selectmen  until  March  23,  1795,  when  a  committee 


330  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

consisting  of  seven  gentlemen  was  '  chosen  for  the  purpose 
of  superintending  the  schools  in  this  town,  and  carrying  into 
effect  the  school  act.'  " 

At  Worcester,  in  1727,  there  was  a  committee  of  five, 
"the  first  school  committee,"  but  in  1729  matters  were 
referred  to  the  selectmen  again.  However,  in  1730  a  com- 
mittee of  five  was  appointed  to  '"  provide  a  schoolmaster  at 
the  charge  of  the  town,"  and  "to  order  where  the  school 
shall  be  kept  in  said  town."  Generally,  however,  the  select- 
men were  in  charge  of  the  schools  up  to  1738,  when  a 
committee  of  five  was  appointed  "  to  provide  a  suitable 
schoolmaster  for  the  said  town  for  the  year  ensuing."  In 
1 80 1  it  was  voted  that  "a  committee  of  three  be  raised, 
who  in  addition  to  the  selectmen  shall  be  required  to  visit 
the  several  schools  in  the  town  and  advise  upon  the  best 
method  of  instructing  the  same."  In  1808  it  was  "voted 
to  choose  a  committee  to  examine  and  enquire  whether  the 
money  granted  for  public  schools  may  not  be  expended  to 
better  advantage  than  it  has  formerly  been." 

Special  committees  were  largely  employed  at  Plymouth  in 
the  first  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Thus,  in  1703, 
a  committee  of  three  was  appointed  to  get  a  grammar  school- 
master, and  in  1706  a  committee  of  four  to  agree  with  the 
schoolmaster,  and  for  a  number  of  years  special  committees 
were  chosen  to  manage  the  schools.  In  17 14  "with  refer- 
ence to  the  promoting  of  a  school  for  learning  of  children 
at  each  end  of  the  town,  the  town  appointed  the  selectmen 
of  said  town  together  with  [two  men]  to  consider  of  some 
method  to  present  to  the  town  at  the  next  town  meeting  in 
order  to  promote  that  work."  In  17 16  the  schools  were 
settled  and  it  was  voted  that  "  there  be  a  committee  chosen 
to  provide  suitable  persons  to  keep  said  schools,"  and  in 
1725  a  school  was  established  for  seven  years,  and  three 
men  were  named  to  "be  a  committee  to  provide  a  suitable 
schoolmaster  from  time  to  time  during  said  space." 


GOVERNMENT  OF  SCHOOLS  331 

At  Northampton,  for  one  hundred  and  five  years  school 
affairs  had  been  controlled  by  the  town  direct  or  by  the  select- 
men, but  in  1759  a  regular  school  committee  was  elected  — 
six  men  who  were  to  join  with  the  selectmen  in  the  conduct 
of  school  affairs.  They  were  instructed  "'  to  join  the  select- 
men to  consider  how  many  schools  it  should  be  necessary 
and  profitable  for  this  town  to  keep,  from  this  time  to  next 
plowing  time,  for  the  instruction  of  the  boys  of  this  town, 
both  in  grammar  learning  and  to  read  and  write,  and  em- 
powered said  committee  together  with  the  selectmen  to 
determine  the  same  in  behalf  of  the  town,  and  to  procure 
suitable  persons  to  keep  and  teach  such  schools,  and  to  take 
up  such  house  or  houses  besides  the  schoolhouse  as  shall  be 
needed  for  that  purpose.  To  agree  upon  the  sums  to  be  given 
such  teachers  or  masters.  To  assign  the  number  of  boys  to 
each  school  that  at  present  are  kept  or  that  they  shall  judge 
proper  to  set  up  and  to  determine  and  order  of  what  sort 
they  shall  be,  to  wit,  whether  grammar  scholars  or  readers 
or  writers,  which  shall  be  admitted  to  and  taught  in  each 
school  respectively."  "  Unlimited  power  relating  to  schools 
was  by  this  vote,  delegated  to  this  committee.  They  were 
empowered  to  control  the  schools,  to  hire  teachers,  provide 
schoolrooms,  and  were  authorized  to  expend  whatever  money 
was  needed  for  school  purposes  without  restriction." 

The  next  year  the  committee  consisted  of  four  beside  the 
selectmen,  and  they  were  instructed  to  consider  the  necessity 
of  "  setting  up  one  or  more  English  schools  in  addition  to 
those  already  kept,"  and  "  to  supply  the  schools  with  wood 
forthwith." 

Committees  were  intermittent.  In  1795  one  was  instructed 
to  "  report  a  plan  of  education  comporting  with  the  law  and 
calculated  to  diffuse  a  general  and  equal  instruction  of  chil- 
dren throughout  the  town."  "  At  a  subsequent  meeting  this 
committee  reported  that  they  had  concluded  not  to  recom- 
mend a  system  of  education  but  suggested  the  establishment 


332  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

of  a  school  committee  consisting  of  the  selectmen  and  four 
other  persons,  who  should  be  authorized  to  control  all  edu- 
cational matters  in  the  town."  Further,  "  that  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  school  committee  to  provide  instructors,  to  appor- 
tion the  scholars  to  the  different  schools,  to  determine  on 
school  hours,  to  alter  if  they  see  fit  the  time  and  manner  of 
instructing  girls,  and  in  general,  to  inspect  and  regulate  the 
schools  according  to  their  best  discretion.  Provided,  however, 
that  it  shall  not  be  in  the  discretion  of  the  committee  to  vio- 
late any  law  respecting  schools,  nor  to  expend  any  greater 
sum  annually  than  the  said  ^820,  And  that  the  town  may 
know  the  situation  of  their  schools  the  committee  shall  report 
at  the  March  meeting  annually  a  general  statement  of  the 
schools,  setting  forth  the  number  of  scholars  in  each,  the 
branches  of  learning  taught  in  each,  and  the  sum  given  to 
each  instructor."    This  report  was  accepted. 

The  tendency  to  place  ministers  upon  the  committees  is 
shown  by  the  following  records:  In  Woburn,  about  1780,  a 
committee  of  two  clergymen  and  five  prominent  men  was 
appointed  "  to  examine  into  the  government  of  the  schools 
and  to  recommend  some  uniform  system  of  instruction." 
The  committee  made  several  recommendations  which  were 
accepted.  At  Orleans,  in  1798,  "the  usual  appropriations 
were  made  for  schools,  and  the  minister  and  selectmen  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  examine  teachers  in  regard  to  quali- 
fications and  to  direct  and  superintend  their  labors."  At  Sud- 
bury, in  1802,  the  committee  was  "empowered  to  hire  all 
teachers  .  .  .  and  .  .  .  after  consultation  with  the  minister  and 
the  teachers  employed,  to  decide  what  books  should  be 
used."  At  Boscawen,  New  Hampshire,  after  the  superin- 
tending committee  law  of  1809,  the  committee  was  com- 
posed of  two  ministers  and  three  selectmen.  They  voted  to 
visit  schools  and  laid  the  manner  of  so  doing.  Wenham,  in 
1806,  voted  "that  the  selectmen  and  the  committee  chosen 
in  each  school  ward   for  procuring  schoolmasters  for  the 


GOVERNMENT  OF  SCHOOLS  333 

time  being,  shall  be  a  committee  for  the  puqDose  of  visiting 
schools  with  Rev,  R.  Anderson,  for  the  better  management 
of  schools  agreeable  to  law." 

In  fact,  the  clergymen  were  generally  all  included  on  these 
early  committees,  but  when,  at  Dunstable,  "in  May,  1810, 
the  town  chose  for  the  first  time  a  regular  school  committee 
to  visit  and  examine  the  schools  in  consecutive  order,"  none 
of  the  five  members  was  a  clergyman. 

The  appointment  or  election  of  regular  school  committees 
began  to  prevail  about  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury. Thus  at  Concord,  in  1799,  the  first  school  committee 
of  five  was  chosen.  Hingham,  in  1787,  chose  four  men  a 
"  committee  to  assist  the  selectmen  in  taking  care  of  and 
providing  for  the  schools."  After  1794  this  was  done  annu- 
ally until  the  law  of  1827  required  a  separate  school  com- 
mittee. Of  Yarmouth  it  is  said,  "  In  1783  and  thenceforward 
annually,  the  town  chose  committees  to  secure  a  schoolmaster 
and  attend  to  the  interests  of  the  schools."  Boxford  had  its 
first  school  committee  in  1795,  "to  hire  schoolmasters  and 
dames  and  to  inspect  the  schools  if  thought  proper." 

Longmeadow,  in  1800,  "voted  to  choose  a  committee  of 
five  whose  duty  it  shall  be  at  convenient  times  to  visit  the 
several  schools  and  attend  to  their  regulations,  and  also  see 
that  no  teacher  keeps  a  school  for  any  considerable  time 
without  their  approbation  and  the  approval  of  the  minister 
of  the  town." 

At  Medfield,  in  181 3,  "a  committee  was  chosen  to  visit 
and  superintend  the  schools."  There  were  four  men.  "  This 
is  the  first  distinct  mention  of  such  a  board." 

Wenham  was  a  typical  town  in  this  respect.  There,  for 
a  long  time,  the  selectmen  had  care  of  the  schools ;  "  they 
hired  the  teacher,  determined  the  length  of  the  school,  and 
the  place  where  it  should  be  kept.  It  was  not  till  1772  that 
a  committee  was  appointed  especially  to  take  charge  of  the 
schools,  nor  was  it  done  habitually  till  considerably  later." 


XVI 

VISITATION 

In  the  chapter  on  Religion  in  the  Schools  are  recorded 
many  instances  of  visiting  by  the  ministers  for  the  purpose  of 
examining  the  pupils  in  the  catechism  and  their  other  religious 
instruction.  The  practice  of  making  these  visits  continued 
many  years.  The  selectmen  and  other  prominent  citizens 
sometimes  joined  them,  and  as  time  went  on  persons  were 
specially  designated  for  such  visitation.  Naturally,  the  duty 
fell  later  on  those  selectmen  who  formed  a  kind  of  special 
committee  on  the  schools,  and,  later  still,  on  the  school  com- 
mittee proper.  Finally  the  official  duties  of  the  minister 
ceased,  but  not  till  well  within  the  nineteenth  century. 

One  of  the  first-recorded  votes  was  at  Billerica,  in  1661, 
when  it  was  voted  that  "  the  townsmen  do  agree  that  Lieut. 
Will  French  and  Ralph  Hill,  senior,  do  take  care  and  ex- 
amine the  several  families  in  our  town  whether  their  children 
and  servants  are  taught  in  the  precepts  of  religion  in  reading 
and  learning  their  catechism."  In  1668  the  selectmen's  rec- 
ords state  that  they  "  appoint  the  next  second  day  to  go  the 
rounds  to  examine  the  teaching  of  children  and  youth  accord- 
ing to  law."  Again,  in  1674,  it  was  recorded  :  "  In  reference 
to  the  catechising  of  the  youth  of  the  town  and  examining 
them  concerning  their  reading,  a  duty  imposed  on  the  select- 
men by  the  Honorable  Court,  to  take  care  that  children  and 
youth  be  instructed  in  both  :  the  selectmen  do  order  that  all 
children  and  youth,  single  persons  from  eight  years  old  and 
upward,  their  parents  and  masters  shall  send  such  children 
and  servants  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Samuel  Whiting,  at  such  times 
as  shall  afterwards  be  appointed  by  him,  to  be  examirfed  of 

334 


VISITATION  \  335 

both,  as  hoping  this  might  be  a  good  expedient  for  the 
encouragement  of  all  superiors  and  youth." 

In  the  New  Haven  Colony,  in  1660,  we  read  "that  if  the 
common  school  be  settled  in  this  town,  the  Hon.  Governor, 
Magistrates,  Elders,  and  Deputies  would  solemnly  and  together 
visit  the  grammar  school  once  every  year  at  the  court  for  elec- 
tions, to  examine  the  scholars'  proficiency  in  learning."  More 
than  fifty  years  later,  in  17 14,  in  the  Connecticut  Colony, 
"  Forasmuch  as  the  upholding  and  good  ordering  of  the  schools 
erected  in  towns  by  order  of  this  assembly  and  partly  main- 
tained out  of  the  public  treasury,  is  of  great  importance  to  the 
public  weal,  and  the  neglect  thereof  will  be  the  occasion  of 
much  ignorance,  disorder  and  profaneness,"  it  was  ordered 
"that  the  colony  authority  together  with  the  selectmen  in  every 
town,  or  majority  part  of  them,  shall  inspect,  and  they  are 
hereby  directed  and  empowered  as  visitors  to  inspect  the  state 
of  all  such  schools  as  are  appointed  in  the  said  town  from 
time  to  time,  and  particularly  once  in  each  quarter  of  the  year, 
at  such  time  as  they  shall  think  proper,  to  visit  such  schools 
and  enquire  into  the  qualifications  of  the  masters  of  such 
schools  and  their  diligence  in  attending  to  the  service  of  the 
said  school,  together  with  the  proficiency  of  the  children  under 
their  care.  And  they  are  hereby  further  required  to  give  such 
directions  as  they  shall  find  needful,  to  render  such  schools 
most  serviceable  to  the  increase  of  that  knowledge,  civility, 
and  religion  which  is  designed  in  the  erecting  of  them.  .  .  . 
That  if  in  this  inspection  of  the  said  schools,  the  said  in- 
spectors observe  any  such  disorders  or  misapplication  of  the 
public  money  allowed  to  the  support  of  such  schools  as  render 
the  said  schools  not  likely  to  attain  the  good  ends  proposed, 
they  shall  lay  the  same  before  this  Assembly  that  the  proper 
orders  in  such  cases  necessary  may  be  given." 

Returning  to  Massachusetts,  Salem  and  Ipswich  both,  in 
1740,  passed  identical  votes:  "The  selectmen  are  to  visit 
the  schools  quarterly." 


336  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Sometimes  the  induction  of  a  new  master  was  made  the  occa- 
sion of  a  visit,  as  at  Charlestown  on  August  20,  1764  :  "  This 
day  the  selectmen,  accompanied  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Prentice  and 
some  other  gentlemen  of  the  town,  visited  the  school,  and 
after  good  advice  given  the  children  and  solemn  prayers  to 
God  for  his  blessing,  they  gave  Mr.  William  Harris  the  care 
of  the  writing  school." 

Woburn,  about  1775,  appointed  a  committee  of  two  cler- 
gymen and  five  prominent  men  "'  to  examine  into  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  schools  and  to  recommend  some  uniform 
system  of  instruction."  In  their  report,  which  was  accepted, 
was  this :  "  We  recommend  a  visitation  of  the  respective 
schools  by  the  ministers  of  the  town,  the  school  committee 
and  the  selectmen,  on  the  day  previous  to  each  master's 
finishing  his  respective  school ;  notice  being  given  them  by 
the  respective  masters."  Likewise  Haverhill,  in  1789,  "voted 
to  choose  a  committee  to  inspect  the  schools."  This  commit- 
tee was  "  the  settled  clergymen  and  selectmen  "  and  five 
prominent  citizens.  It  was  voted  that  "  the  above  committee 
visit  the  schools  quarterly  and  make  report  to  the  town  at 
their  annual  March  and  fall  meetings."  In  Roxbury,  in 
1790,  the  selectmen's  report  announced  that  "'  they  with  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Porter,  on  the  15th  of  February  last,  visited  the 
several  schools  through  the  town.  In  each  of  said  schools 
the  scholars  are  taught  to  spell,  and  read  the  English  lan- 
guage, and  to  speak  with  propriety,  writing,  arithmetic,  with 
such  other  branches  of  human  knowledge  as  their  respective 
capacities  are  capable  of  imbibing."  At  Brookline,  in  1791, 
one  clergyman  and  two  others  •"  were  chosen  to  examine  the 
schools  on  the  last  Wednesday  in  October  next,  and  on  the 
last  Wednesday  in  every  quarter  through  the  year." 

Visitations  could  not  always  be  "  solemn  "  and  formal. 
Thus,  at  Woodstock,  Vermont,  in  the  winter  of  1799,  the 
exhibition  for  district  No.  8  was  held  "  in  Nathaniel  Smith's 
house  which  was  still  unfinished.   The  exhibition  was  held 


VISITATION  337 

in  the  kitchen,  the  only  room  fit  for  the  purpose,  and  the 
Httle  boys  were  stowed  away  up  stairs  to  watch  proceedings 
through  the  chinks  in  the  floor  and  ceiHng," 

The  Framingham  school  rules  in  1800  directed  the  com- 
mitteeman to  visit  school  one  week  after  it  opened,  to  see 
if  the  pupils  had  books.  Poor  children  were  provided  for 
by  the  town ;  unprovided  richer  ones  were  excluded  from 
school  until  provided.  The  teacher  was  to  be  notified  of 
the  visit.  Another  rule  was  '"  that  the  visiting  committee  be 
desired  to  visit  the  women's  schools  to  see  that  the  first 
rudiments  of  reading  and  spelling  are  properly  taught."  In 
1802  it  was  made  the  duty  of  the  school  committee  to  visit 
the  various  schools. 

Wenham,  in  1806,  voted  "that  the  selectmen  and  the 
committee  chosen  in  each  school  ward  for  procuring  school- 
masters for  the  time  being,  shall  be  a  committee  for  the  pur- 
pose of  visiting  schools  with  Rev.  R.  Anderson,  for  the  better 
management  of  schools,  according  to  law." 

At  Boscawen,  New  Hampshire,  after  the  superintending 
law  of  1809,  the  committee  was  composed  of  two  ministers 
and  three  selectmen.  They  voted  to  visit  schools  "  the  second 
Tuesday  after  their  commencement,  and  the  Tuesday  preced- 
ing their  close,  and  to  this  end  public  notice  shall  be  given  the 
Sabbath  before  such  visit."  It  was  voted  "  that  three  of  the 
committee  [there  being  five]  should  attend  each  visit,  extraor- 
dinaries  excepted,  and  should  the  case  happen  that  but  two 
or  one  shall  be  able  to  attend,  after  such  public  notice,  it  must 
be  considered  as  the  proper  visit,  and  no  new  appointment 
can  be  made."  On  Tuesday,  May  16,  1809,  "'  the  committee 
according  to  public  notice  visited  the  school  district  no.  6, 
Little  Hill,  under  the  care  of  Miss  Mary  Gerrish,  32  children  ; 
Books  ;  spelling  book,  Preceptor,  geography,  grammar,  Bible 
and  catechism."  Similar  reports  were  made  on  other  schools. 
These  were  summer  schools,  attended  only  by  the  younger 
children.    It  will  be  noted  that  arithmetic  is  not  mentioned 


338  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

among  the  textbooks.  '"  Mental  arithmetic  was  not  introduced 
till  about  the  year  1830.  Its  introduction  produced  great  ex- 
citement. Many  parents  opposed  it  on  the  ground  that  it 
would  confuse  the  minds  of  the  children  and  would  lead  to 
insanity."    The  former  fear  has  proved  to  be  well  founded. 

At  the  winter  visit  to  the  same  school  the  committee 
reported:  "Visited  school,  Little  Hill,  52  scholars,  well  ar- 
ranged in  a  new  and  commodious  schoolhouse,  under  care 
of  Mr.  Smith. 

1  class  3  in  2  syllables, 

2  class  4  in  3  syllables, 

3  class  4  in  poetical  lessons,  spelling  book  well, 

4  class  10  in  Preceptor, 

5  class  4  in  English  reader,  well, 

6  class  27  in  geography,  some  too  fast,  others  slow, 

17  parsed  grammar,  33  spelled  in  dictionary,  girls  better  than 
boys,  4  in  arithmetic,  26  in  writing.  This  school  promises 
fair."   The  other  schools  were  similarly  reported  on. 

Then,  as  now,  pupils  and  parents  had  their  own  ideas 
about  the  schools.  Thus,  at  Oxford,  in  18 10,  the  school 
committee  reported  :  "  Your  committee,  in  company  with  the 
Rev.  Josiah  Moulton  and  the  Gentlemen  Selectmen  of  said 
town,  have  attended  to  their  duty  and  find  the  several  schools, 
with  the  exception  of  Mr,  Harwood's  ward,  in  a  flourishing 
state,  being  supplied  with  able  teachers  and  actuated  with  a 
laudable  ambition  to  excel ;  the  reason  of  your  committee's 
making  an  exception  of  Mr.  Harwood's  ward  is  that  a  large 
part  of  the  parents  and  guardians  in  said  ward  are  opposed 
to  having  their  schools  inspected  and  keep  their  children  at 
home,  which  practise  in  the  opinion  of  your  committee  is 
very  injurious,  as  it  tends  to  sap  the  first  principles  in  society 
and  frustrate  every  necessary  regulation." 

Boston,  as  is  natural,  furnishes  the  fullest  account  of  the 
visiting,  the  record  covering  most  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
I-n  1 7 10  a  committee  appointed  to  consider  school  matters 


VISITATION  339 

made  a  long  report.  Among  the  items  was  this  :  "  We  fur- 
ther propose  and  recommend  as  of  great  service  and  advan- 
tage for  the  promoting  of  diligence  and  good  literature,  that 
the  town,  agreeably  to  the  usage  in  England  and  (as  we  un- 
derstand) in  some  time  past  practised  here,  do  nominate  and 
appoint  a  certain  number  of  gentlemen  of  liberal  education, 
together  with  some  of  the  reverend  ministers  of  the  town,  to 
be  inspectors  of  the  said  school,  under  that  name,  title  or 
denomination,  to  visit  the  school  from  time  to  time,  when 
and  as  often  as  they  shall  think  fit,  to  inform  themselves  of 
the  methods  used  in  teaching  of  the  scholars,  and  to  enquire 
of  their  proficiency,  and  be  present  at  the  performance  of 
some  of  their  exercises,  the  master  being  before  notified  of 
their  coming,  and  with  him  to  consult  and  advise  of  further 
methods  for  the  advancement  of  learning  and  the  good  gov- 
ernment of  the  school.  .  .  .  And  at  their  said  visitation,  one 
of  the  ministers  by  turn  to  pray  with  the  scholars  and  enter- 
tain them  with  some  instructions  of  piety  specially  adapted  to 
their  age  and  education.  The  inspectors  also  with  the  master 
to  introduce  an  usher  upon  such  salary  as  the  town  shall 
agree  to  grant  for  his  services,  all  which  is  submitted  to  con- 
sideration." The  report  was  accepted,  and  five  inspectors 
chosen  for  the  year.  In  1724  the  type  of  committee  on 
school  visitation  is  shown  by  the  following  :  "  The  selectmen 
agreed  to  visit  the  schools  upon  Friday  next,  being  the  1 2th 
day  of  February,  instant,  and  have  agreed  to  desire  the  Rev. 
Messrs.  Benj,  Wadsworth,  Joseph  Sewell  and  Samuel  Check- 
ley,  ministers,  to  join  them  in  visiting  the  school  of  Mr. 
Nathaniel"  Williams,  and  to  meet  at  Mr.  Wadsworth's  at 
two  of  the  clock ;  and  to  desire  Col.  Adam  Winthrop,  Col. 
Thomas  Fitch,  and  Maj.  Habi  Savage  to  afford  their  com- 
pany to  visit  the  schools  of  Mr.  Edward  Mills  and  Mr.  Jacob 
Sheaf,  at  ten  of  the  clock  in  the  forenoon  ;  and  to  visit 
the  north  schools  on  Tuesday  the  23rd  at  two  of  the  clock, 
and  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Peter  Thatcher,  Gee  and  Calender, 


340  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

presbyters,  with  Thomas  and  Edward  Hutchinson,  Esqs.,  and 
Mr.  Samuel  Greenwood  to  accompany  them." 

In  1728  it  was  voted  "that  the  selectmen  and  such  as 
they  shall  desire  to  accompany  them,  be  the  inspectors  of 
the  schools  for  the  year  ensuing,"  and  in  1729  again  the 
"  selectmen  and  such  as  they  shall  desire  to  accompany 
them"  were  appointed  to  "be  a  committee  to  visit  the  pub- 
lic schools,  and  that  they  direct  Mr.  Peter  Blin  to  a  more 
constant  and  diligent  application  to  discharging  the  trust 
committed  to  him." 

In  1733  a  new  form  was  added  to  the  visitation.  After 
the  appointment  of  the  committee  it  was  voted  "  that  a  din- 
ner be  provided  at  Mrs.  Wardwell's  and  the  above-mentioned 
gentlemen  with  the  several  schoolmasters  be  desired  to  dine 
with  us."  This  was  repeated  in  1734.  In  1736  the  usual 
committee  was  appointed  or  invited,  and  a  committee  of  two 
was  appointed  "to  wait  upon  his  Excellency,  the  Governor, 
and  to  inform  him  that  the  selectmen  desire  his  Excellency 
would  please  to  honor  them  with  his  company  in  the  said 
visitation,"  and  also  a  committee  of  two  "are  desired  to  take 
care  that  a  suitable  dinner  be  provided  for  the  visitors  of  the 
schools  on  Tuesday,  the  29th  instant." 

In  1737  the  committee  and  day  of  visitation  were  ap- 
pointed one  week  ahead.  The  schoolmasters  were  duly  noti- 
fied, and  a  committee  of  two  was  appointed  "  to  provide  a 
dinner  at  the  Orange  Tree  for  about  twenty  gentlemen  on 
the  day  of  the  visitation."  The  same  was  done  in  1738  for 
thirty  gentlemen.  In  1739  the  dinner  was  for  thirty  and  the 
ushers  were  included.  Similar  dinners  were  held  the  follow- 
ing three  years ;  they  seem  to  have  become  established  as  a 
custom,  though  some  twenty  years  later,  in  the  report  to 
the  town  of  the  school  visitations,  there  is  no  mention  of 
the  dinners.  As  to  the  cost  we  find  that  in  1743  the  com- 
mittee was  "  desired  to  agree  for  the  [dinner]  at  the  cheapest 
rate  they  can,  not  to  exceed  ten  shillings  per  man." 


VISITATION  341 

The  report  of  the  selectmen  on  school  visitation  in  1738 
states  "  that  the  number  of  scholars  instructed  in  the  public 
schools  is  as  follows,  viz. : 

In  the  south  grammar  school  about  120 

In  the  north  grammar  school  about  60 

In  the  north  writing  school  about  280 

In  the  writing  school  in  Queen  St.  about  73 

In  the  south  writing  school  about  62 

That  we  heard  the  performances  of  the  Latin  scholars  at 
each  grammar  school  and  inspected  the  performances  of  the 
scholars  in  the  other  schools,  both  in  writing  and  arithmetic, 
and  heard  the  younger  scholars  read.  And  that  in  genera] 
they  performed  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  visitors ;  and 
we  have  grounds  to  hope  that  the  masters  in  the  said  several 
schools  do  faithfully  discharge  the  trust  reposed  in  them. 
And  we  look  upon  it  as  a  point  of  justice,  due  to  the  master 
of  the  south  writing  school,  to  report  that  the  writing  both 
of  the  master  and  scholars  has  been  of  late  much  improved," 

The  selectmen  were  yearly  instructed  to  visit  schools  and 
make  report  to  the  town.  The  list  of  visitors  was  often  for- 
midable, and  the  reports  consisted  generally  of  the  number 
of  scholars  and  the  statement  that  they  were  "under  good 
regulation." 

In  1753  it  was  voted  that  eight  prominent  citizens  (naming 
them),  "  or  the  major  part  of  them,  be  and  they  hereby  are 
appointed  a  committee  to  visit  the  public  schools  in  the  town 
the  year  ensuing,  at  such  times  as  they  shall  think  proper,  to 
see  what  number  of  children  are  in  each  school,  to  enquire 
into  their  behavior  and  attendance,  and  the  government  and 
regulation  they  are  under,  and  they  are  desired  to  make  re- 
port hereon  at  the  general  town  meeting  in  March  next." 
This  committee  asked  to  be  excused  and  was  so  excused. 
It  was  then  voted  "  that  the  selectmen  be  and  hereby  are 
desired  to  visit  the  public  schools  more  frequently  than  has 
been  hitherto  practised  and  enquire  into  the  behavior  of  the 


342  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

scholars  and  the  government  and  regulation  they  are  under, 
and  give  such  directions  to  the  masters  of  said  schools  con- 
cerning them  as  they  shall  judge  needful." 

Perhaps  the  dinner  served  on  visitation  days  was  a  help  in 
getting  the  committees  to  perform  their  duty.  At  any  rate  we 
read  that  in  1764  the  school  visitation  was  held  on  July  10, 
and  it  was  voted  "  that  a  dinner  be  provided  at  Faneuil  Hall 
for  about  fifty  gentlemen  on  the  day  for  visiting  the  school, 
and  that  Mr.  Ballard  shall  have  the  dressing  thereof,  and 
also  furnish  the  liquors  that  may  be  wanted."  A  still  more 
elaborate  celebration  was  held  in  1765,  when  it  was  voted 
"  that  a  dinner  be  provided  at  Faneuil  Hall  on  the  day  of 
visiting  the  schools  as  usual.  Mr.  Williston  was  directed  to 
call  upon  Mr.  Wiswall  and  Mr.  Lovell,  the  masters  of  the 
two  public  grammar  schools,  for  the  names  of  the  fathers  of 
those  children  who  are  in  their  highest  forms  and  will  leave 
school  this  season,  that  those  parents  may  be  invited  to 
attend  the  visitation  and  dine  at  Faneuil  Hall  on  said  day." 

The  gathering  storm  of  the  Revolution  is  seen  in  1774 
"  when  the  selectmen  proceeded  with  the  gentlemen  invited  to 
a  visitation  of  the  public  schools,  but  on  account  of  the  present 
distress,  the  dinner  usual  on  such  days  was  laid  aside." 

In  1780  new  masters  were  inducted  into  office  by  the 
selectmen  as  a  body.  Many  items  like  this  appear,  "  The 
selectmen  met  and  proceeded  to  the  north  grammar  school 
where  Mr.  Smith  was  inducted  as  master  thereof." 

In  1 78 1,  with  the  approach  of  peace,  the  dinner  reappears. 
"It  is  agreed  by  the  selectmen  to  attend  the  visitation  of 
the  schools  on  Wednesday  the  nth  of  July  next,  and  that 
a  dinner  be  provided  as  usual."  The  clerk  notified  the 
masters  of  the  time  set  for  the  visitation,  and  the  cere- 
monies were  apparently  very  formal.  In  1783  the  school 
visitation  was  held  on  July  9  and  a  dinner  was  provided 
as  usual,  for  it  was  "  agreed  with  Mr.  Woart  to  dine  about 
seventy  or  eighty  persons  on  the  day  when  the  public  schools 


VISITATION  343 

are  to  be  visited,  at  3/6  per  man,  and  all  the  liquors  that 
shall  be  drank  are  to  be  paid  for." 

A  glimpse  of  the  induction  ceremonies  in  1785  is  given 
when  we  read :  "  The  selectmen  went  this  forenoon  to  the 
southernmost  writing  school  and  introduced  Mr.  Samuel 
Cheney  as  master  of  said  school,  when  it  was  recommended 
that  he  give  due  attendance  at  school  hours,  and  constantly 
open  the  school  in  the  morning  and  close  the  same  in  the 
evening  with  prayer,  and  that  he  exert  his  abilities  for  the 
instruction  of  the  children  under  his  care  in  writing  and 
arithmetic,  and  for  preserving  regularity  and  good  order  in 
the  school,  and  that  he  does  not  fail  causing  the  children  to 
read  a  portion  of  scripture  every  day,  and  of  instructing  them 
in  the  catechism  once  a  week.  The  children  were  exhorted 
to  attend  closely  to  the  rules  and  orders  of  the  school,  and 
diligently  to  improve  the  advantages  they  were  under  for 
making  proficiency  in  writing,  arithmetic  &c."  In  1789  the 
selectmen  were  divided  into  sub-committees  to  visit  certain 
schools  "  as  often  as  they  shall  think  proper,  but  not  less 
than  twice  a  month." 

In  1 790  is  found  the  first  account  of  girls  : 

Mr.  Hunter's  school  had  63  boys, 

Carter  and  Bingham's    "  220  boys,  180  girls, 

Vinal  and  Ticknor's       "  229     "      185     " 

Tileston  and  Cheney's    "  250     "      174     " 

In  1794  the  visitation  dinners  were  still  continued,  accord- 
ing to  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Collections.  "  In  the 
month  of  July  annually  the  selectmen  and  gentlemen  of 
science  chosen  by  the  town  as  a  school  committee,  with 
other  reputable  characters  invited  by  them,  visit  these 
schools  to  examine  into  the  regulations  and  proficiency  of 
the  scholars,  at  which  times  specimens  of  their  writings 
are  shown  and  there  are  exhibitions  of  their  reading  and 
speaking.  The  visitors  dine  together  at  Faneuil  Hall  at  the 
expense  of  the  town." 


XVII 
ENFORCEMENT  OF  LAWS  AGAINST  ILLITERACY 

Though  the  first  schools  estabhshed  were  grammar,  or 
Latin,  schools  and  pupils  were  not  admitted  till  they  could 
read,  it  is  evident  that  parents  were  expected  to  see  that 
their  children  learned  to  read,  either  at  home  or  at  a  dame 
school.  There  are  numerous  records  of  votes  and  court  de- 
cisions showing  this  expectation.  Thus  there  is  this  order  of 
the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts,  dated  the  third  month, 
1636  :  "  The  chosen  men  of  the  towns  are  to  see  that  parents 
train  up  their  children  in  learning,  labor  and  employment ; 
if  not,  upon  presentment  of  the  grand  jury,  or  other  infor- 
mation of  their  neglect,  the  said  townsmen  are  subject  to 
fine.  They  may  impose  fines  upon  such  parents  as  refuse 
to  give  the  account  of  their  children's  education.  .  .  .  With 
the  consent  of  two  magistrates  they  have  power  to  put  for 
apprentice  such  children  whose  parents  are  not  able  and  fit 
to  bring  them  up."  To  carry  out  this  or  a  later  law,  at 
Cambridge,  in  1642,  it  was  ordered  "that  according  to  an 
order  of  the  Court,  made  the  last  General  Court,  for  the 
townsmen  to  see  to  the  educating  children,  that  John  Bridge 
shall  take  care  of  all  the  families  of  that  side  of  the  highway 
his  own  house  stands  on."  Others  were  named  for  other  por- 
tions of  the  town,  seven  in  all,  selectmen  and  two  constables. 

Masters  were  responsible  for  their  apprentices,  as  parents 
for  their  children;  thus  at  New  Haven,  in  1639,  "Thomas 
Fugill  is  required  by  the  court  to  keep  Charles  Higginson, 
an  indentured  apprentice,  at  school  one  year,  or  else  advan- 
tage him  so  much  in  his  education  as  one  year's  schooling 
comes  to." 

344 


LAWS  AGAINST  ILLITERACY  345 

At  New  Haven,  as  in  Massachusetts,  the  education  of  the 
masses  was  not  provided  for  by  the  town.  The  law  of  1656  re- 
quired parents  to  provide  for  this  "'  either  by  their  own  abihty 
and  labor  or  by  improving  such  schoolmaster  or  other  help  as 
the  plantation  doth  afford  or  the  family  conveniency  provide." 
Further,  courts  of  magistrates  were  ordered  if  "such  children 
or  servants  may  be  in  danger  to  grow  barbarous,  rude  and 
stubborn,  [to]  take  such  children  or  apprentices  from  such 
parents  or  masters  and  place  them  for  years,  boys  till  they 
come  to  the  age  of  one  and  twenty,  and  girls  till  they  come 
to  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  with  such  others  who  shall 
better  educate  and  govern  them,  both  for  public  conveniency 
and  for  the  particular  good  of  the  said  children  or  appren- 
tices." This  practice  of  binding  out  children  whose  parents 
did  not  properly  instruct  them  was  common  throughout  the 
colonies.  It  applied  to  children  not  taught  useful  labor  as 
well  as  those  not  taught  their  letters.  Thus  at  Bostoh,  in 
1656,  "it  is  agreed  upon  the  complaint  against  the  son  of 
Goodwife  Samon  living  without  a  calling,  that  if  she  dispose 
not  of  him  in  some  way  of  employ  before  the  next  meeting, 
that  then  the  townsmen  will  dispose  of  him  to  some  service 
according  to  law."  By  a  further  law  in  Massachusetts  the 
selectmen  were  ordered  to  see  "  that  none  of  them  shall 
suffer  so  much  barbarism  in  any  of  their  families  as  not  to 
endeavor  to  teach  by  themselves  or  others  their  children 
and  apprentices  so  much  learning  as  may  enable  them  per- 
fectly to  read  the  English  tongue,  and  knowledge  of  the 
capital  laws."  Here  is  a  case  of  provision  made  by  a  father's 
will  at  Essex,  in  1647.  This  will  of  Luke  Heard  states, 
"Also  this  is  my  will  that  my  two  sons  be  brought  up  to 
writing  and  reading."  Later,  bonds  were  given  "  that  the 
two  children  of  the  said  widow  which  were  left  unto  her 
by  her  late  husband  Luke  Heard,  of  Ipswich,  linen-weaver, 
be  well  brought  up  and  due  means  be  used  to  teach 
them  to  read  and  write  well,  as  soon  as  they  are  capable." 


346  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

A  somewhat  different  provision  is  made  by  the  will  of 
Robert  Andrews,  also  of  Ipswich  :  "  Item,  concerning  my 
son,  Thomas  Andrews,  my  will  is  that  he  shall  live  with  his 
brother,  John  Andrews,  three  years,  two  of  which  he  shall 
be  helpful  to  his  brother  John  Andrews  in  his  husbandry, 
and  the  last  of  the  three  years  he  shall  go  to  school  to 
recover  his  learning," 

Contracts  made  in  binding  out  children  usually  provided 
for  their  education,  as  does  the  indenture  of  Moses  Love,  "  a 
minor  aged  two  years  and  eight  months,"  between  the  select- 
men of  Leicester  and  Matthew  Scott,  who  agreed  that  he 
"  will,  during  the  term  aforesaid,  find  and  provide  for  the 
said  apprentice  sufficient  clothing,  meat,  drink,  washing, 
and  lodging,  both  in  sickness  and  health,  and  that  he  will 
teach  him  or  cause  him  to  be  taught  to  read  and  write  and 
cypher,  fitting  his  degree,  if  he  be  capable  of  learning,  and 
at  the  expiration  of  the  term  to  dismiss  him  with  two  suits 
of  apparel,  one  to  be  fit  for  the  Lord's  day." 

That  there  was  need  of  these  laws  is  shown  by  Gloucester, 
where  "it  is  estimated  that  fully  one-half  the  population  in 
1664  could  neither  read  nor  write."  A  generation  later,  also, 
at  Natick,  in  1698,  a  committee  which  had  been  inspecting 
stated  :  "  Here  are  59  men  and  5 1  women  and  70  children 
under  sixteen  years  of  age.  We  find  no  schoolmaster  here 
and  only  one  child  that  can  read."  Such  a  committee  of  in- 
spection is  thus  mentioned  at  Billerica  in  1668  in  the  select- 
men's records.  "  They  appoint  the  next  second  day  to  go 
the  rounds  to  examine  the  teaching  of  children  and  youth 
according  to  law." 

Here  are  the  results  of  some  similar  tours.  At  Watertown, 
in  1670,  three  men  were  ordered  before  the  selectmen,  "and 
being  found  defective  were  admonished  for  not  learning  their 
children  to  read  the  English  tongue,  were  convinced,  did  ac- 
knowledge their  neglects  and  promise  amendment."  The 
same  year  "  two  men  were  appointed  to  speak  with  William 


LAWS  AGAINST  ILLITERACY  347 

Knop  about  the  education  of  his  daughter  and  to  make  re- 
turn how  they  find  it  as  to  her  education  and  also  being  kept 
under  restraint  and  government."  The  next  year  this  girl 
seems  to  have  been  living  with  a  Thomas  Smith,  for  he 
was  summoned  before  the  selectmen  about  her,  '"  did  ac- 
knowledge that  the  child  had  not  been  so  well  attended  in 
matter  of  learning  as  she  should  have  been,  and  did  promise 
that  he  would  be  more  careful  for  the  time  to  come  that  she 
shall  be  learned  in  the  knowledge  of  reading  the  English 
tongue."  At  the  same  place,  in  1672,  a  committee  reported 
"  that  John  Fiske's  children  are  neither  taught  to  read  nor 
yet  their  catechise." 

At  Salem,  in  1673,  "as  five  men  neglected  to  have  their 
children  instructed  and  brought  up  to  some  useful  employ- 
ment, our  selectmen  advertised  that  such  children  would  be 
put  out  to  service."  At  Hadley,  in  1677,  "Goodman  Launce- 
lot  Granger  of  Suffield  was  presented  to  the  Hampshire  court 
for  the  neglect  of  learning  his  children  to  read.  He  appeared 
at  the  March  court,  1678,  and  declared  he  was  using  the 
means  to  learn  them  to  read  and  promised  to  do  his  best, 
and  he  was  discharged." 

Here  are  two  indentures,  one  of  1677,  at  Watertown,  the 
other  of  1687,  in  Essex  county ;  it  will  be  noticed  that  the 
apprentice  in  the  second  is  to  be  taught  arithmetic,  of  which 
no  mention  is  made  in  the  first.  At  Watertown  a  boy  was 
bound  out  to  a  Joseph  Underwood  until  he  was  twenty-one. 
Underwood  agreed  "  to  teach  the  boy  to  read  and  write  and 
some  orthodox  catechise,  and  to  find  him  meat,  drink,  and 
apparel  suitable  unto  such  an  apprentice."  The  second  inden- 
ture, made  by  William  Baker  with  reference  to  an  apprentice, 
Charles  Atwood,  stated  :  "Also  within  the  said  term,  to  teach 
or  cause  to  be  taught  his  said  apprentice  to  read,  to  write  the 
English  tongue  sufficiently,  and  so  far  in  the  art  of  arith- 
metic as  well  to  do  the  rule  of  three,  called  the  golden  rule 
or  rule  of  proportion."    This  came  out  in  a  court  trial.    One 


348  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

witness  said  he  was  "also  to  read  and  write  and  cast  accounts 
fit  to  keep  a  merchant's  book." 

These  apprentices  were  boys.  Less  was  expected  in  the 
case  of  girls,  as  is  shown  by  an  indenture  entered  into  in 
the  year  1688  by  the  overseers  of  the  poor  of  Boston  with 
Ebenezer  Prout  of  Concord.  "The  subject  of  the  agreement, 
described  as  a  poor  child  of  the  age  of  nine  years,  was  bound 
to  serve  as  an  apprentice  until  she  became  twenty-one  years 
of  age  or  was  married.  Prout  agreed  on  his  part  that  she 
should  be  taught  perfectly  to  read  English,  sew,  spin,  and 
knit  as  she  should  be  capable.  It  will  be  noted  that  she  waS 
to  be  taught  to  read,  but  nothing  is  said  about  writing.  Of 
the  first  planters  nearly  all  the  men  and  some  of  the  women 
could  write,  but  their  sons  and  grandsons  not  infrequently 
signed  by  making  a  mark,  and  during  the  first  three  genera- 
tions it  was  an  unusual  accomplishment  in  a  woman  to  be 
able  to  write  her  name." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  these  prosecutions  were  not  for  tru- 
ancy, but  were  to  prevent  illiteracy.  Parents  could  teach  the 
rudiments  themselves  or  provide  teachers  as  they  preferred. 
But  there  would  be  many  cases  where  the  parents  were  too 
illiterate  to  do  the  teaching  themselves,  and  too  poor  to  pay 
for  the  necessary  schooling.  Very  early,  indeed,  provision 
was  made  for  such  conditions.  The  Election  sermons  in 
Massachusetts  constantly  pleaded  for  schools,  especially  "in- 
ferior "  schools.  Thomas  Shepard,  in  a  sermon  on  "  Eye 
Salve  "  in  1672,  pleaded  to  have  "  foundations  laid  for  free 
schools  where  poor  scholars  might  be  educated  by  some  pub- 
lic stock."  In  Boston,  in  1678,  a  proposition  for  "a  free 
school  to  teach  the  children  of  poor  people  "  was  referred  to 
the  selectmen.  In  1682  "the  same  day  it  was  voted  by  the 
inhabitants  that  the  said  committee,  with  the  selectmen,  con- 
sider of  and  provide  one  or  more  free  schools  for  the  teach- 
ing of  children  to  write  and  cypher  within  the  town."  At 
Watertown,  in  1683,  rates  had  been  made  for  pupils,  but 


LAWS  AGAINST  ILLITERACY  349 

"the  town  will  pay  for  such  children  as  their  parents  arc  un- 
able to  pay  for,  the  selectmen  being  judges."  At  Braintree, 
in  1 70 1,  there  was  levied  a  school  tax  of  twenty  shillings, 
but  it  was  added  "  that  any  poor  persons  in  this  town  who 
shall  send  any  children  to  said  school  and  find  themselves 
unable  to  pay,  upon  their  application  to  the  selectmen  it 
shall  be  in  their  power  to  abate  or  remit  a  part  or  the  whole 
of  the  above  sum." 

Similarly,  at  Boston,  in  1703,  it  was  "ordered  that  a  vote 
be  prepared  to  empower  the  overseers  to  advance  of  the  town 
stock  towards  teaching  the  children  to  read  of  such  parents 
wHo  are  extremely  poor."  Boston  took  up  the  matter  of  free 
textbooks,  too,  quite  early,  for  in  1749  "the  selectmen  are 
desired  to  provide  suitable  books  for  that  purpose  [reading 
and  spelling]  at  the  charge  of  the  town,  to  be  given  to  such 
poor  children  as  they  may  think  proper." 

Charitable  persons  also  made  provision  for  the  poor.  Thus 
at  Salem,  in  1729,  Samuel  Brown  left  two  hundred  forty 
pounds,  "the  interest  of  one  half  of  this  sum  to  be  devoted 
to  the  education  of  poor  children  in  the  grammar  school, 
one  quarter  to  be  similarly  applied  for  poor  children  in  the 
English  school." 

A  striking  instance  of  liberality  occurred  at  Marblehead  in 
1747,  where  "a  school  for  poor  children  was  established 
through  the  generosity  of  Robert  Hooper  Jr.,  who  agreed  to 
pay  the  necessary  expenses  and  the  salary  of  the  teacher  if  the 
town  would  fit  up  and  furnish  a  schoolhouse.  The  proposal 
was  accepted  and  the  selectmen  were  instructed  to  '  fit  up  the 
schoolhouse  and  grant  a  lease '  of  it  for  the  purpose." 

The  schools  suffered  severely  during  the  Revolution.  In 
many  places  they  were  closed  entirely,  though  few  towns 
took  the  trouble  to  record  the  fact.  All  the  money  that 
could  be  raised  was  needed  for  the  army.  In  Bristol 
there  was  no  school  from  1772  to  1781.  Manchester,  in 
1775,  voted  "to  dismiss  the  town  school  from  this  day." 


3 so  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

A  common  vote  of  the  towns  was  like  this  at  Weare,  New 
Hampshire,  in  1775,  "Voted  to  drop  the  schooling  for  the 
present." 

Swanzey,  New  Hampshire,  in  1775,  voted  "to  raise  twenty 
pounds  for  schooling,"  but  later  in  the  year  voted  "  to  apply 
the  twenty  pounds  which  was  granted  to  hire  schooling  this 
year  towards  paying  the  province  tax,"  and  in  1776  voted 
"not  to  raise  any  money  for  schooling,"  but  in  1777  and 
1778,  however,  money  was  raised  and  the  work  went  on. 
At  Dover,  in  1775,  there  was  a  hard  struggle  between  those 
in  favor  of  keeping  the  school  and  those  who  advocated 
economy.  After  it  had  been  voted  to  keep  the  school  the 
following  petition,  with  thirty-one  signers,  was  presented  : 
"  Whereas  it  hath  been  legally  voted  that  a  certain  sum  of 
money  should  be  raised  in  this  our  town  for  the  support 
of  schools,  we,  the  subscribers,  humbly  petition  you,  the 
selectmen,  for  to  call  a  meeting  and  to  see  if  the  inhabitants 
of  said  town  will  reconsider  the  vote  and  let  the  schools  drop 
this  present  year  for  the  reason  of  extraordinary  charges 
other  ways."  A  meeting  was  called  for  the  last  day  in  July. 
At  the  meeting  it  was  recorded  :  "  2ndly,  that  the  vote  for 
school  money  should  be  reconsidered  by  29  hands  and  28 
hands  against.  Then  a  poll  was  demanded  and  granted,  and 
34  was  for  reconsidering  said  vote  and  Capt.  Jonathan  Gage 
said  he  was  therefor  but  passed  not  through  to  be  told  by  the 
selectmen  as  usual,  and  33  was  told  against  it  and  two  more 
afterwards  appeared  against  it,  the  selectmen  said.  Then  a 
second  poll  was  granted  and  the  moderator  and  clerk  told 
them,  37  for  reconsidering  said  vote,  and  37  against  it,  the 
moderator  added  to  one  side  and  the  clerk  to  the  other,  made 
the  poll  38  each.  Then  a  request  for  a  third  poll  was  made 
but  not  granted.  Then  a  vote  was  whether  the  meeting 
should  be  adjourned ;  a  few  hands  for  it  and  about  double 
the  number  against  it.  Then  after  some  talk  on  the  legality 
of  a  moderator  adjourning  a  town  meeting  without  a  vote 


LAWS  AGAINST  ILLITERACY  351 

therefor,  he  declared  the  meeting  adjourned  to  Monday  the 
7th  of  August,  next,  at  4  o'clock  p.m."  On  August  7  it 
was  voted,  "nemine  contradicente,  that  there  be  no  schools 
this  present  year,  10  being  the  number  of  hands  therefor, 
and  then  the  meeting  was  dissolved  by  the  moderator." 

Similarly,  at  Sandwich,  in  1778,  a  proposal  to  raise  money 
for  schools  was  defeated,  '"  the  necessities  of  the  war  being 
greater  than  the  needs  of  education." 

Schools  were  sometimes  closed  for  other  reasons  than  lack 
of  money.  Here  is  a  reference  to  a  memorable  day  at  Bos- 
ton, from  the  diary  of  John  Tileston  :  "March  6,  1775; 
there  was  an  elegant  and  spirited  oration  delivered  at  the 
old  south  meetinghouse  by  Dr.  Joseph  Warren.  Broke  up 
school  at  10  o'clock.    Didn't  keep  in  the  afternoon." 

In  spite  of  war  and  occupation  by  the  British,  Boston 
showed  her  traditional  respect  for  education.  In  1776  "the 
selectmen  took  into  consideration  the  expediency  of  opening 
schools  in  the  town,  whereupon  voted  that  the  grammar 
school  in  School  St.  be  opened."  Two  writing  schools  were 
also  opened.  The  next  month  "  the  town  clerk  is  directed 
to  give  the  crier  a  notification  that  the  writing  school  in  the 
Common  will  be  opened  for  the  reception  of  children  on 
Monday  next  at  the  usual  hours  in  the  forenoon  and  after- 
noon, by  order  of  the  selectmen,  and  that  the  same  be 
published  on  Saturday  next  from  the  town  house  to  the 
fortification." 

'After  the  Revolution  the  work  was  again  taken  up  by  the 
towns,  gradually,  of  course,  and  as  prosperity  increased  educa- 
tion made  rapid  progress.  Opportunities  for  primary  educa- 
tion were  especially  improved,  and  more  and  more  attention 
was  paid  to  the  education  of  the  poor.  Roxbury  is  a  case  in 
point.  In  1790  it  was  stated:  "The  provision  the  town  have 
heretofore  been  pleased  to  make  for  the  support  of  their 
schools,  has,  we  believe,  operated  equally  in  most  parts 
of  the  town,  notwithstanding  which  we  find  that  in  some 


352  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

instances  the  children  of  poor  parents  have  been  obHged  to 
neglect  the  opportunities  of  acquiring  learning  because  their 
parents  are  unable  to  pay  a  small  proportion  towards  the 
maintenance  of  the  school ;  this  is  a  peculiar  misfortune 
which  if  possible  ought  to  be  remedied."  A  committee  was 
appointed,  which  reported  later  in  the  year.  The  pith  of  the 
matter  was  that  the  selectmen,  on  application  of  the  district 
committees,  were  empowered  to  draw  on  the  town  treasury 
"for  such  sums  as  shall  appear  to  them  absolutely  necessary 
to  defray  the  charge  of  educating  poor  people's  children, 
over  and  above  the  sums  heretofore  granted  by  the  town 
towards  the  support  of  said  schools,  not  exceeding  the  sum 
of  40  shillings  to  any  one  school." 


XVIII 

SCHOOLROOM  AND  PUPILS 

* 

The  furnishings  and  equipment  of  the  early  schools  were 
scanty  in  the  extreme.  Often  there  was  absolutely  nothing 
but  a  plank  supported  on  barrels  or  stakes  for  the  desk,  and 
seats  made  of  slabs  supported  by  sticks  thrust  into  auger 
holes.  The  arrangements  at  Dorchester,  in  1652,  must  have 
been  very  elaborate  for  that  time.  "'  The  feoffees  have  agreed 
with  Mr.  Daniel  Weld  .  .  .  that  he  provide  convenient 
benches  with  forms  and  tables  for  the  scholars  to  sit  on 
and  to  write  at,  with  a  convenient  seat  for  the  schoolmaster, 
and  a  desk  to  put  the  dictionary  on,  and  shelves  to  lay  up 
books,  and  keep  the  house  and  windows  and  doors  with  the 
chimney  sufficient  and  proper,  and  there  shall  be  added  to  his 
yearly  stipend  due  by  the  book,  the  rent  of  the  school  land, 
being  four  pounds  the  year,  he  having  promised  the  feoffees 
to  free  them  of  the  labor  of  gathering  up  the  particulars  of  the 
contributions  and  they  to  stand  by  in  case  any  be  refractory." 

A  rather  curious  item  comes  from  Hingham  :  "  One  quaint 
charge  was  that  of  Nehemiah  Leavett,  a  blacksmith  in  Hing- 
ham, '  for  a  pair  of  tongues  for  the  schoolhouse  in  the  second 
parish.'  This  was  a  pair  of  tongs  to  manipulate  the  logs  in 
the  open  fireplace.  These  tongs  suggest  many  more  rude 
implements  of  that  primitive  culture.  An  hour-glass  was  used 
for  keeping  the  time,  and  the  seats  were  wooden  benches 
without  backs  and  without  any  desks.  At  the  noon  hour  in 
winter  the  scholars  from  a  distance  ate  their  cold  lunches  of 
'  rye  'n'  Injun  '  bread  while  gathered  about  the  fireplace,  per- 
haps warming  mince-pie  and  bottles  of  milk  upon  the  hearth," 

The  arrangements  at  Farmington,  Connecticut,  in  1688, 
are  thus  detailed :   "  Around  the  wall  on  all  sides  ran  a  wide 

353 


354  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

board  nailed  up  at  a  convenient  angle.  In  front  for  a  seat 
was  a  rough  slab,  sawed  side  upwards,  supported  on  legs 
driven  into  auger  holes  and  often  projecting  above  them, 
to  the  no  small  discomfort  of  the  occupants.  The  whole 
arrangement  was  exceedingly  simple.  If  a  class  was  called 
on  to  recite,  there  was  no  complex  marching  out  to  music, 
but  each  child,  swinging  his  feet  over  the  seat,  dropped  them 
down  on  the  other  side,  and  the  class  at  once  sat  facing  the 
teacher,  ready  for  recitation.  Recitation  over,  they  swung 
their  feet  back  again  and  study  went  on  as  before." 

How  late  such  conditions  lasted  is  seen  by  this  entry  at 
Boston  in  1783,  "Mr.  Vinal  has  liberty  to  have  a  closet 
built  in  his  school  to  keep  his  globes  in." 

In  many  places  the  pupils  had  to  see  that  the  fire  was 
built  early  enough  to  have  the  schoolroom  warm.  At  Up- 
neck,  Hartford,  in  181 1,  "  the  boys  in  turn,  for  a  week  or  for 
a  few  days,  were  required  to  open  the  house,  sweep  it  out, 
make  the  fire,  and  put  it  in  order  for  the  day."  At  Newport, 
in  a  higher  school,  Channing  states  :  "Our  schoolroom  had 
to  be  swept  and  dusted  twice  or  thrice  a  week,  and  the  class 
were  obliged  to  do  this  in  turn.  As  this  was  a  disagreeable 
task  those  boys  who  had  money  could  easily  buy  substitutes 
from  among  the  poorer  boys."  Deacon  Hawes,  apparently 
to  avoid  having  it  to  do  himself,  "  set  at  auction  who  would 
make  the  fire  cheapest,  say  for  one  month,  which  would  go 
at  about  one  cent  a  day." 

Here  are  two  glimpses  at  the  pupils  of  early  times.  A 
master  at  London,  New  Hampshire,  about  1790  writes:  "My 
school  consisted  of  about  40  pupils.  It  was  composed  of 
both  sexes  and  of  all  ages.  Most  of  the  children  under  10 
years  of  age  wore  leather  aprons,  reaching  from  their  chins 
to  their  ankles.  These  aprons  after  being  worn  a  little  time 
became  striped  and  shining  with  bean  porridge,  which  in 
winter  made  the  principal  food  of  the  children.  Many  of 
the  little  girls  took  snuff;   it  was  the  fashion."    Similarly, 


SCHOOLROOM  AND  PUPILS  355 

Mrs.  Haynes  relates  of  Sudbury :  "  The  boys  wore  leather 
aprons  and  breeches.  For  dinner  they  used  to  fetch  sausage  or 
a  slice  of  pork  and  a  crust  of  bread,  sharpen  a  stick  and  broil 
it  over  the  coals,  making  plenty  of  grease  spots.  The  girls 
wore  short  loose  gowns  and  skirts  and  thick  leather  shoes 
and  woolen  stockings.  They  wore  blankets  over  their  heads 
or  their  mothers'  old  cloaks.  In  the  summer  they  wore  gown 
and  skirt  and  cape  bonnet,  with  bare  feet.  You  might  as 
soon  look  for  a  white  bear  as  to  see  shoes  on  children  in 
summer  time." 

When  the  studies  were  entirely  language  studies,  and  were 
taught  strictly  vtemoriter,  pupils  often  reached  college  or 
completed  their  education  at  a  surprisingly  early  age.  Thus 
President  Stiles's  diary,  which  begins  in  1769,  states,  "  Ezra 
Stiles  began  to  learn  Hebrew  about  this  time,  aged  ten." 
The  grammar  school  was  entered  by  boys  of  eight,  as  this 
extract  shows :  "  I,  John  Barnard,  was  born  at  Boston  Nov- 
ember 6,  1 68 1 .  My  parents  were  respectable  and  very  pious 
and  charitable.  In  the  spring  of  the  eighth  year  I  was 
sent  to  the  grammar  sc*hool.  My  master  was  the  aged  and 
famous  Mr.  Ezekiel  Cheever,  and  well  he  merited  the  fame 
so  heartily  given  him.  I  have  many  interesting  memories  of 
him..  He  placed  me  in  the  lowest  class,  but  finding  that  I 
soon  read  through  my  books,  he  put  me  after  a  few  weeks  into 
a  higher  class,  and  the  next  year  made  me  the  head  of  it." 

Benjamin  Franklin  also  went  to  the  grammar  school  at 
the  same  age.  "  I  was  put  to  the  grammar  school  at  eight 
years  of  age,  my  father  intending  as  an  offering  to  God  to 
make  me  a  minister  of  the  church.  My  readiness  in  learning 
to  read  must  have  been  very  early,  as  I  do  not  remember 
when  I  could  not  read.  Later  my  father  sent  me  to  a  school 
for  writing  and  arithmetic.  I  learned  good  writing  pretty  soon 
but  failed  in  the  arithmetic.  At  ten  years  of  age  I  was  taken 
home  to  help  my  father  in  his  business."  At  his  age  a  failure 
in  arithmetic  might  be  considered  very  pardonable. 


356  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Another  precocious  pupil  was  Samuel  Kneeland,  who  says : 
"  When  I  was  three  years  old,  I  was  sent  to  school  to  a  mis- 
tress, where  I  learned  to  read  with  great  dispatch ;  in  my 
fifth  year  I  was  taken  away  and  put  to  a  writing  master ;  in 
my  seventh  year  I  could  flourish  a  tolerable  hand  and  began 
my  grammar.  By  the  time  that  I  was  fourteen,  I  was  con- 
siderably proficient  in  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages,  and 
was  admitted  to  Harvard  College." 

Yet,  in  spite  of  such  examples  of  precocity,  the  waste  of 
time  in  most  of  the  schools  must  have  been  atrocious.  Here 
is  a  record  of  Boston  schools  in  1789  :  ""  Until  eleven  years 
old,  all  the  pupils  did  in  a  whole  forenoon  or  afternoon  was 
to  write  one  page  in  a  copy-book,  not  exceeding  ten  lines. 
When  they  began  to  cypher  it  rarely  happened  that  they  per- 
formed more  than  two  sums  in  the  simplest  rules.  These 
were  set  in  the  pupil's  manuscript  and  the  operation  was 
there  recorded  by  him.  No  printed  book  was  used.  Such 
writing  and  cyphering,  howdver,  were  too  much  for  one  day, 
and  boys  who  cyphered  did  so  every  other  day."  Edward 
Everett  states,  "  To  write  a  page  in  a  copy-book,  and  to  do 
a  few  sums,  as  it  was  called,  in  the  elementary  rules  of  arith- 
metic, was  half  a  day's  work  in  the  writing  school." 

Scholars  who  sought  to  pass  away  the  time  in  work  brought 
from  home  were  thus  forbidden  at  Marlborough,  New  Hamp- 
shire, in  1797,  when  it  was  voted  '"  that  no  child  be  permitted 
to  bring  any  work  to  school  of  any  kind."  Framingham 
also,  in  1800,  made  the  rule  "that  no  work  be  allowed  to  be 
done  in  women's  schools  except  the  art  of  lettering,"  that  is, 
making  samplers. 

Then,  as  now,  wonderful  tales  of  the  results  attained  in 
Europe  reached  this  country,  and  fired  the  imagination  of 
the  laity.  Witness  this  from  Boston  in  1711  :  "A  memorial 
offered  to  the  town  at  this  meeting  by  the  selectmen,  being 
as  foUoweth  ;  Whereas  according  to  the  information  of  some 
of  the  learned  who  have  made  observation  of  the  easy  and 


SCHOOLROOM  AND  PUPILS  357 

pleasant  rules  and  methods  used  in  some  schools  in  Europe, 
where  scholars  perhaps  within  the  compass  of  one  year  have 
attained  a  competent  proficiency  so  as  to  be  able  to  read  and 
discourse  in  Latin,  and  of  themselves  capable  to  make  con- 
siderable progress  therein,  and  that  according  to  the  methods 
used  here  very  many  hundreds  of  boys  in  this  town,  who  by 
their  parents  were  never  designed  for  a  more  liberal  education, 
have  spent  two,  three,  four  years  or  more  of  their  more  early 
days  at  the  Latin  school,  which  have  proved  of  very  little  or 
no  benefit  as  to  their  after  accomplishment ;  it  is  therefore 
proposed  to  the  town  that  they  would  recommend  it  to  those 
gentlemen  whom  they  shall  choose  as  inspectors  of  the  schools, 
together  with  the  ministers  of  the  town,  to  consider  whether 
in  this  town,  where  the  free  school  is  maintained  chiefly  by 
a  town  rate  on  the  inhabitants,  that  supposing  the  former 
more  tedious  and  burdensome  method  may  be  thought  the 
best  for  such  as  are  designed  for  scholars,  which  is  by  some 
questioned,  yet  for  the  sake  and  benefit  of  others,  who  usually 
are  the  greater  number  by  far  in  such  schools,  whether  it 
might  not  be  advisable  that  some  more  easy  and  delightful 
method  be  there  attended  and  put  in  practise,  and  to  signify 
to  the  town  their  thoughts  therein  in  order  to  the  encourage- 
ment of  the  same."    It  was  so  voted. 

Evidently  the  committee  could  not  transplant  the  wonderful 
method,  and,  so  far  as  we  know,  no  one  in  the  United  States 
has  yet  learned  to  discourse  in  Latin  in  one  year. 

Much  more  comforting,  to  a  teacher  at  least,  is  the  closing 
part  of  this  passage  in  the  Roxbury  report  of  1790,  which 
states,  "In  each  of  said  schools  the  scholars  are  taught  to 
spell,  and  read  the  English  language,  and  to  speak  with 
propriety  ;  writing,  arithmetic,  with  such  branches  of  human 
knowledge  as  their  respective  capacities  are  capable  of 
imbibing" 


XIX 

ARITHMETIC  IN  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND 

In  the  early  schools  arithmetic  was  not  a  large  subject.  It 
seems  to  have  entered  not  by  law  but  by  popular  demand. 
In  the  first  educational  laws,  reading  and  writing  were  em- 
phasized as  the  essentials. 

In  1642  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  authorized  the 
selectmen  of  the  various  towns  to  find  out  the  ability  of 
children  "to  read  and  understand  the  principles  of  religion 
and  the  capital  laws  of  the  country." 

Under  this  law,  towns,  by  their  selectmen  or  by  special 
committees,  frequently  examined  the  children.  It  is  recorded 
in  Watertown,  in  1679,  "Agreed  by  the  selectmen  that  they 
would  go  to  and  fro  through  the  town,  to  see  that  all  children 
be  taught  to  read  the  English  tongue  and  some  orthodox 
catechise."  In  Billerica,  in  1681,  there  is  this  record,  "The 
townsmen  do  agree  that  Lieut.  Will  French  and  Ralph  Hill, 
Senior,  do  take  care  and  examine  the  several  families  in  our 
town,  whether  their  children  and  servants  are  taught  in  the 
precepts  of  religion,  in  reading  and  learning  the  catechism." 

Under  this  law  the  selectmen  could  do  more  than  exam- 
ine ;  they  could  take  children  away  from  negligent  parents 
and  bind  them  out.  In  Watertown,  in  1679,  a  boy  was  bound 
out  to  one  Joseph  Underwood  until  he  became  twenty-one. 
Underwood  agreed  "  to  teach  the  boy  to  read  and  write  and 
some  orthodox  catechise."  There  is  no  arithmetic  in  this 
law  and  its  applications. 

The  Massachusetts  Bay  law  of  1647  says  that  towns 
"  after  the  Lord  hath  increased  them  to  the  number  of  fifty 
householders  shall  then  forthwith  appoint  one  within  their 

358 


ARITHMETIC  IN  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND      359 

town  to  teach  all  such  children  as  shall  resort  to  him  to 
write  and  read." 

And  in  1663  the  Court  of  Plymouth  Colony  proposed 
unto  the  several  townships  within  its  jurisdiction  "as  a  thing 
they  ought  to  take  into  their  serious  consideration,  that  some 
course  may  be  taken  that  in  every  town  there  may  be  a 
schoolmaster  set  up  to  train  up  children  in  reading  and 
writing."    There  is  no  arithmetic  here. 

The  New  Haven  Colony  law  of  1656  compelled  parents 
and  masters  to  see  "  that  their  children  and  apprentices 
should  be  taught  to  read  the  Scriptures  and  other  good  and 
profitable  books  in  the  English  tongue,  being  their  natural 
language,  and  in  some  competent  measure  to  understand 
the  main  grounds  and  principles  of  the  Christian  religion 
necessary  to  salvation."    There  is  no  arithmetic  here. 

In  1660  the  Reverend  Mr.  Davenport  recommended  that 
the  law  be  extended  so  that  "all  boys  should  be  learned  to  write 
a  legible  hand  as  soon  as  they  are  capable,  and  that  they  should 
also  be  taught  to  cast  up  accounts  competently  and  should 
make  some  entrance  into  the  Latin  tongue."  The  town  ac- 
cepted the  writing  but  rejected  the  Latin  and  arithmetic. 

Again,  in  1663,  some  one  remarked  in  the  town  meeting 
"that  arithmetic  was  very  necessary  in  these  parts,"  but  again 
the  town  refused  to  add  it  to  the  studies.  Soon  after  1700, 
however,  when  a  colony  grammar  school  had  been  estab- 
lished and  the  pupils  were  divided  into  English  boys  and 
Latin  boys,  the  English  boys  were  taught  "  to  perfect  their 
right  spelling  and  reading,  and  to  write,  and  cypher  in 
numeration  and  addition  and  no  further r 

Towns  newly  formed  by  the  General  Court  frequently 
received  in  their  articles  of  incorporation  directions  relative 
to  schools.  For  instance,  when  Easton  was  incorporated,  in 
1725,  it  was  ordered  "to  procure  and  maintain  a  school- 
master to  instruct  their  youth  in  writing  and  reading."  There 
is  no  arithmetic  here. 


36o  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

The  requirements  for  entrance  to  Harvard  College  in  1647 
were  to  "read  TuUy  or  such  classical  Latin  author  extempore, 
and  speak  true  Latin  in  verse  and  prose,  and  decline  perfectly 
the  paradigms  of  nouns  and  verbs  in  the  Greek  tongue." 
There  is  no  arithmetic  here.  In  fact  it  was  one  of  the  senior- 
year  studies  in  the  college,  where,  in  "  the  third  year  at  the 
loth  hour,  Arithmetic  and  Geometry  [were  taken]  the  three 
first  quarters.  Astronomy  the  last." 

In  these  early  days  there  were  two  kinds  of  schools  —  the 
Iso-called  grammar  schools,  fitting  for  college,  of  which  the 
Boston  Latin  School  was  a  type,  and  the  English  schools, 
corresponding  in  grade  to  our  present  elementary  schools, 
and  teaching  at  first  only  reading  and  writing. 

These  Latin  grammar  schools  do  not  mention  arithmetic 
at  first.  The  Salem  Latin  School  began  in  1637,  and  its 
studies  were  "  English,  Latin,  Greek,  good  manners  and  the 
principles  of  the  Christian  Religion."  It  was  not  until  1699, 
two  generations  later,  that  "  writing,  cyphering  and  reading  " 
are  mentioned.  The  study  is  not  generally  recognized  by  the 
early  historians.  Neal,  in  his  "  History  of  New  England," 
about  1700,  says  :  "  Hardly  a  child  of  nine  or  ten  years  old, 
throughout  the  whole  country,  but  can  read  and  write,  and 
say  his  catechism."    There  is  no  arithmetic  here. 

Yet,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  is  not  mentioned  in  law,  or 
in  selectmen's  examinations,  or  in  Harvard  requirements,  or 
in  some  of  the  Latin  school  courses,  arithmetic,  as  "cypher- 
ing" or  "casting  of  accounts,"  is  frequently  mentioned  in 
the  early  records  of  many  towns,  in  their  agreements  with  the 
schoolmasters. 

As  early  as  1653  Dedham  had  a  schoolmaster  who  agreed 
"  to  teach  to  read  English  and  the  '  Accidence,'  and  to  write 
and  the  knowledge  and  art  of  arithmetic  and  the  rules  and 
practise  thereof."  Their  records  do  not  mention  the  subject 
again  for  ten  years,  and  then  it  reappears  and  is  found  in 
all  future  agreements. 


ly 


ARITHMETIC  IN  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND      361 

Hampton,  New  Hampshire,  in  1649,  had  a  schoolmaster 
"to  teach  to  vyrite  and  read  and  cast  accounts,  if  it  be  desired!' 
"  Casting  accounts  "  was  a  part  of  the  schoolmaster's  duties 
in  Marlborough  in  1696. 

Sandwich,  in  1699,  appropriated  ten  pounds  for  a  school- 
master, "he  to  teach  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic." 
Yarmouth  mentions  the  subject  in  171 1,  Newton  in  1701, 
Newbury  in  1691.  In  1700  Muddy  River,  then  a  part  of 
Boston  (now  Brookline),  petitioned  for  a  schoolmaster  "  to 
teach  to  write  and  cypher"  ;  this  was  granted,  and  Rumney 
Marsh  (now  Chelsea)  put  in  a  similar  petition.  This  latter 
school  was  not  founded  until  1709,  but  that  arithmetic  was 
taught  in  it  is  proved  by  a  document' in  the  possession  of  the 
late  Mellen  Chamberlain,  which  is  "an  account  of  the  scholars 
entered  at  the  school  in  Rumney  Marsh,  for  reading,  writing 
and  cyphering,  for  the  two  last  quarters,  ending  Feb'y  5, 
1714,"  rendered  to  the  selectmen  of  Boston  by  Thomas 
Cheever,  schoolmaster.  "Cyphering"  was  a  part  of  Boston's 
school  work  in  1645.  A  special  committee  in  Sudbury,  in 
1680,  reporting  on  the  educational  situation,  says  :  "And  as 
for  schools,  though  there  be  no  stated  school  in  this  town  for 
teaching  to  write  or  to  cypher,  here  is  Mr.  Thomas  Walker 
and  two  or  three  others  about  the  town  that  do  teach  therein, 
and  are  ready  to  teach  all  others  that  need,  if  people  will 
come  or  send  them."  And  in  1702  they  had  a  schoolmaster 
to  "teach  all' children  sent  to  him  to  learn  English  and  the 
Latin  tongue,  also  writing  and  the  art  of  arithmetic." 

A  Plymouth  town  meeting,  in  1 674,  ordered  that "  due  atten- 
tion be  paid  to  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic."  Swansea,  in 
1673,  "set  up  a  school  for  rhetoric,  arithmetic,  Latin,  Greek 
and  Hebrew."  Hingham,  in  1670,  made  a  contract  with  a 
schoolmaster  that  "  he  will  teach  and  instruct  in  Latin,  Greek, 
and  English,  in  writing  and  arithmetic."  And  Haverhill,  in 
1685,  made  an  agreement  with  a  schoolmaster  "to  endeavor 
to  teach  such  as  shall  resort  to  him,  as  they  shall  desire,  to 


362  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

read  or  write  or  cypher  or  all  of  them."  Note  the  expression 
"  as  they  shall  desire." 

From  such  records  it  is  evident  that  arithmetic  was  taught, 
but  it  was  optional ;  evidently  it  was  chosen  from  the  utilita- 
rian point  of  view.  Medford,  in  1794,  had  "so  much  arith- 
metic as  shall  fit  them  for  the  common  transactions  of  life." 
The  "  Rule  of  Three,"  that  is,  simple  proportion,  was  the 
limit ;  few  went  beyond  "vulgar  fractions."  In  a  town  meet- 
ing held  in  Boston,  October  16,  1789,  three  writing  schools 
were  established,  and  it  was  voted  "  that  in  these  schools  the 
children  of  both  sexes  shall  be  taught  writing  and  also 
arithmetic  in  the  various  branches  of  it  usually  taught  in 
the  town  schools,  including  vulgar  and  decimal  fractions." 

Some  idea  of  the  value  attached  to  the  subject  may  be 
gained  from  another  point  of  view.  In  those  days  the  schools 
were  not  free  in  the  sense  in  which  we  use  the  term  to-day ; 
pupils  paid  according  to  the  studies  taken.  These  tuition 
rates  varied  in  different  places.  Newbury,  in  1691,  had  this : 
"  Readers  free,  Latin  6  pence  per  week,  writing  and  cypher- 
ing 4  pence  per  week."  Newton,  in  1701,  charged  fourpence 
per  week  for  ciphering,  and  on  the  Cape  the  rates  were : 
"  Reading  3  pence  per  week,  reading  and  writing  5  pence 
per  week,  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic  6  pence  per  week." 
Lynn,  in  1 702,  charged  twopence  per  week  for  reading,  three- 
pence per  week  for  writing  and  ciphering,  and  sixpence  per 
week  for  Latin.  Arithmetic  cost  only  one  third  or  one  half 
as  much  as  other  studies.  In  public  estimation,  marked  by  its 
cost  price,  it  was  accounted  the  least  of  the  "  Three  R's." 

Indeed,  many  towns  do  not  mention  the  subject  in  their 
records  for  a  generation  or  two  after  they  began  their  schools. 
I  will  cite  but  two  or  three  illustrations.  Deerfield,  for  more 
than  a  generation,  voted  for  schoolmasters  to  teach  reading 
and  writing,  but  it  was  not  until  1722  that  one  was  named  to 
teach  ciphering,  and  in  1724  one  was  chosen  "  to  learn  youth 
to  read  and  cypher."   Wenham's  first  school  for  reading  and 


ARITHMETIC  IN  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND      363 

writing  was  about  1700,  but  "cyphering"  was  not  added  until 
1742.  There  is  an  abundance  of  such  records,  seeming  to 
indicate  either  that  the  subject  was  not  taught  at  all  or  that 
it  was  not  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  recorded.  In  the 
work  that  was  done  there  were  no  books  for  over  one  hun- 
dred years  and  the  instruction  was  very  limited,  in  quality  as 
well  as  quantity. 

At  Lynn,  in  171 3,  "no  arithmetic  was  used  by  the  scholars 
but  the  master  wrote  all  the  sums  on  the  slate."  Deacon 
Joseph  Hawes,  who  went  to  school  at  Yarmouth  just  before 
the  Revolution,  in  an  account  of  his  school  days,  written 
about  1830,  after  telling  how  the  master  "set  the  sums," 
gives  this  picture  of  the  method  :  "  The  most  forward  in 
arithmetic  might  do  one  or  two  sums  in  a  day,  if  they  could 
do  them  without  the  master's  assistance  :  he  gave  me  one 
sum  in  the  single  rule  of  three  which  I  could  not  resolve  for 
two  or  three  days.  After  requesting  him  a  number  of  times' 
to  inform  me,  he  would  reply  he  had  no  time,  and  I  must 
study  for  the  answer."  After  the  Revolutionary  War  the 
good  deacon  became  a  schoolmaster  himself  and  taught  until 
1820.  This  was  his  method,  with  books:  "Those  in  arith- 
metic having  books  of  different  authors  got  their  own  sums, 
wrote  off  their  own  rules  &c.  If  they  wanted  to  make  in- 
quiries concerning  questions,  I  would  direct  them  to  stand 
up  and  read  the  question,  and  if  the  scholar  next  him  could 
show  him,  I  would  request  him  to ;  if  not,  if  I  had  time,  I 
would  explain  to  him  the  principles  by  which  the  sum  was  to 
be  done.  If  he  then  met  with  difficulty,  I  directed  him  to 
take  it  home  and  study  late  at  night,  to  have  his  answer  in 
the  morning."  The  Reverend  Isaac  Braman,  who  was  born  in 
Norton  in  1770  and  went  to  school  just  after  the  Revolution, 
says  :  "In  the  study  of  arithmetic,  no  scholar  was  allowed  a 
book.  The  teacher  would  give  him  a  sum,  and  he  might  sit 
and  study  upon  it  until  he  had  found  an  answer,  which  would 
sometimes  occupy  several  days."  ' 


364  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

One  more  bit  t>f  ancient  testimony  will  suffice.  This  is 
from  Mrs.  Israel  Haynes,  who  went  to  school  in  Sudbury 
just  after  the  Revolution.  She  says,  "  Those  that  studied 
arithmetic,  the  master  wrote  down  the  rules  and  sums  in 
their  books,  and  then  they  had  birch  bark  split  to  do  their 
sums  on  instead  of  slates." 

As  I  have  said,  all  this  arithmetic  was  optional  until  the 
law  of  1789  added  it  to  the  compulsory  studies,  together  with 
the  English  language,  orthography,  and  decent  behavior. 

Where  an  arithmetic  was  used,  it  was  generally  Hodder's, 
until,  in  1788,  one  Nicholas  Pike  of  Newburyport  published 
the  first  generally  used  American  arithmetic,  a  ponderous 
volume  of  some  five  hundred  and  twelve  pages,  abounding  in 
rules  and  arithmetical  puzzles.  The  terms  used  are  frequently 
unintelligible  to  the  present  generation.  This  is  the  rule  for 
"  Tare  and  Trett,"  "  Deduct  the  tare  and  trett,  divide  the 
suttle  by  168  and  the  quotient  will  be  the  cloff,  which  sub- 
tract from  the  suttle  and  the  remainder  will  be  the  neat." 
Bonnycastle's  Arithmetic,  London,  1780,  has  the  same  rule, 
with  the  added  phrase,  "Divide  the  suttle  by  168  as  in  com- 
pound division  y 

The  definitions  accompanying  this  rule  are  as  follows : 

"  Trett  is  an  allowance  of  four  pounds  in  every  104  pounds 
for  waste,  dust  &c.  Cloff  is  an  allowance  of  two  pounds  upon 
every  three  hundredweight.  Suttle  is  when  part  of  the  allow- 
ance is  deducted  from  the  gross.  Neat  weight  is  what  remains 
after  all  allowances  are  made." 

This  book  of  Pike's  was  the  gem  puzzle  of  its  generation, 
the  forbear  of  all  that  divine  essence  of  arithmetic  in  which 
our  fathers  and  grandfathers  reveled. 

The  first  hundred  and  fifty  years  were  years  of  freedom, 
followed  by  nearly  a  century  when  to  "  cypher  through  the 
arithmetic  "  was  the  acme  of  a  pupil's  ambition,  and  its 
accomplishment  the  sign  of  prodigious  knowledge.  It  was 
the  nineteenth-century  school  fetish. 


XX 

OTHER  STUDIES 

Aside  from  Latin  grammar,  work  was  done  in  reading, 
writing,  ciphering,  spelling,  and  the  catechism.  Pupils  took 
some  but  not  all  of  these  —  generally  reading,  writing,  the 
catechism,  and  spelling.  Reading  was  the  fundamental  study. 
In  the  earliest  times  it  was  considered  to  be  the  only  one 
needed  by  girls,  except  perhaps  the  catechism. 

Locke  makes  the  statement,  "The  method  of  schools  in 
England  in  teaching  children  to  read- has  been  to  adhere  to 
'the  ordinary  road  of  the  hornbook,  primer.  Psalter,  Testa- 
ment and  Bible.'  "  Littlefield,  in  his  "  Early  Schools  and 
Schoolbooks  of  New  England,"  gives  the  same  order  with 
a  few  additional  details.  Speaking  of  the  English  schools 
he  says  :  "  Reading  according  to  Brinsley,  1612,  was  taught, 
first,  by  hornbook  alphabets ;  second,  by  the  ABC  or  as  we 
should  say  spelling;  third,  by  the  primer,  that  is,  prayers 
and  religious  exercises  put  forth  by  royal  authority ;  fourth, 
by  the  psalms  and  meter ;  fifth,  by  the  Testament ;  sixth, 
by  the  School  of  Virtue,  and  the  School  of  Good  Manners." 

Naturally  New  England  schools  followed  similar  lines. 
The  Bible,  especially  the  Psalter  and  New  Testament,  was 
the  universal  reading  book.  The  hornbooks,  from  which  be- 
ginners learned  their  ABC's,  contained  the  alphabet,  with  a 
few  rudiments,  on  one  page,  covered  as  Cowper  says  "  with 
thin,  translucent  horn,"  to  keep  them  from  being  soiled. 
When  the  hornbook  was  mastered  it  was  followed  by  the 
New  England  Primer,  and  the  pupil  was  then  ready  for  the 
Psalter.  At  times  a  spelling  book  intervened,  as  at  Stur- 
bridge  in  1754.    "The  usual  course  of  study  at  this  time 

365 


366  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

was  first  the  New  England  Primer  and  Dilworth's  spell- 
ing i)Ook  ;  then  the  Psalter,  which  was  the  principal  reading 
book,  but  in  order  to  give  the  youthful  powers  of  elocution 
their  finishing  touch  they  were  exercised  on  the  first  book 
of  Chronicles,  the  tenth  chapter  of  Nehemiah,  or  wherever 
else  the  teacher  could  find  a  page  of  pure  Hebrew  names." 

Deacon  Hawes,  speaking  of  the  same  period,  states  that 
after  the  morning  prayer  "  the  Bible  class  was  then  called 
out  to  read  one  chapter,  standing  in  a  half  circle  behind  the 
master.  He  would  meantime  be  employed  making  pens,  &c., 
while  each  scholar  would  mention  the  number  and  read  one 
verse,  while  some  might  be  playing  pins  and  others  matching 
coppers.  Then  the  Psalter  class  read  in  the  same  manner. 
I  know  of  no  other  books  then  in  the  schools."  Braman 
writes  to  the  same  effect :  "In  my  early  days  no  book  was 
used  in  school  except  the  Bible  and  spelling  book.  There 
were  respectable  aged  persons  who  could  not  read."  And  at 
Raymond,  New  Hampshire,  in  1771,  "  the  schools  were  then 
held  about  ten  weeks  in  a  year.  Reading  was  taught  prin- 
cipally from  the  Psalter.  .  .  .  Writing  was  on  birchbark  or 
paper  but  a  little  better." 

A  generation  later,  in  18 12,  we  have  this  reminiscence  of 
the  Mather  School  at  Dorchester :  "  In  it,  the  elder  Deacon 
Humphreys  tells  us,  there  were  three  classes,  the  lowest  be- 
ing known  as  the  Psalter  class,  the  intermediate  as  the  Testa- 
ment class,  and  the  highest  as  the  Bible  class.  Those  who 
made  up  this  last  division  had  the  distinction  of  being  allowed 
to  read  two  chapters  at  the  beginning  and  close  of  the  school 
day,  but  were  made  to  pay  for  this  privilege  by  being  obliged 
to  spell  all  the  words  contained  in  these  two  chapters  and  to 
write  and  cypher."  A  brief  notice  states  that  this  method 
prevailed  in  Boston  in  1789.  "In  the  reading  schools  the 
course  was  for  every  child  to  read  one  verse  in  the  Bible  or 
a  short  paragraph  of  the  Third  Part."  The  "  Third  Part " 
was  a  portion  of  Noah  Webster's  "  Institute." 


OTHER  STUDIES  367 

W.  F.  Stearns  of  Amherst  College  thus  describes  the 
vigorous  method  employed  by  a  teacher  at  Bedford,  about 
1800:  "The  master  pointed  with  his  pen-knife  to  the  first 
three  letters  and  said  '  that 's  A,  that 's  B,  that 's  C  ;  now 
take  your  seat  and  I  will  call  you  by  and  by,  and  if  you  can't 
tell  them  I  will  cut  your  ears  right  off  with  this  knife.'  " 

A  gentler  method  is  related  in  the  reminiscences  of 
Henry  K.  Oliver,  of  Boston.  About  1805,  when  five  years 
old,  he  was  sent  to  a  private  school  kept  by  "  Old  Mr.  Hay- 
slop."  "  By  him  I  was  taught  my  A,B,C,D,E,F,G,  my 
a,b,abs,  and  my  e,b,ebs,  after  the  old  way  —  praised  because 
ancestral  —  the  old  gentleman  holding  an  old  book  in  his 
old  hand,  and  pointing  with  an  old  pin  to  the  old  letters  on 
the  old  page,  and  making  each  of  us  chicks  repeat  their 
several  names  till  we  could  tell  them  at  sight,  though  we 
didn't  know  what  it  was  all  for." 

It  may  be  worth  while  to  quote  from  Deacon  Hawes  his 
own  method  of  teaching  reading,  since  we  have  quoted  his 
criticism  of  his  own  teachers.  ''  The  first  and  last  hours 
were  generally  spent  in  reading,  the  middle  hours  in  writing. 
Those  in  arithmetic  would  read  with  the  others  when  they 
pleased.  Having  only  one  class  in  school,  every  scholar  at 
my  word  '  next,'  would  arise  and  read  in  his  seat  till  I  pro- 
nounced the  word  'next,'  and  I  often  stopped  him  in  the 
middle  of  a  verse.  After  reading  around  I  would  order  an- 
other book  more  proper  for  the  scholars  present,  as  before, 
and  thus  in  four  or  five  different  books  till  the  hour  expired." 
"  While  they  were  writing  in  the  second  form,  I  would  hear 
the  little  ones  read  alone,  who  could  not  read  in  classes. 
Seventeen  was  the  greatest  number  I  ever  had  of  them." 

Later,  when  other  books  besides  the  Bible  were  used,  we 
have  this  description,  from  the  Up-neck  district  at  Hartford : 
"The  books  used  were  the  Columbian  Orator,  the  American 
Preceptor,  and  the  Introduction,  as  it  was  called,  for  reading 
books.    Occasionally  the  scholars  would  read  in  the  Bible, 


368  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

one  verse  at  a  time,  one  jumping  up  as  the  other  sat  down, 
the  sense  and  benefit  of  the  reading  being  wholly  destroyed 
by  the  blundering  and  hesitancy  over  the  hard  words." 

As  a  general  summing  up  of  the  conditions  that  prevailed 
we  may  quote  Burton  :  '"  The  principal  requisites  in  reading, 
in  these  days,  were  to  read  fast,  mind  the  '  stops  and  marks ' 
and  speak  up  loud.  As  for  suiting  the  tone  to  the  meaning, 
no  such  thing  was  dreamed  of,  in  our  school  at  least.  As 
much  emphasis  was  laid  on  an  insignificant  of  or  and  as  on 
the  most  important  word  in  the  piece.  But  no  wonder  we 
did  not  know  how  to  vary  our  tones,  for  we  did  not  always 
know  the  meaning  of  the  words  or  enter  into  the  general 
spirit  of  the  composition.  This  was  very  frequently,  indeed 
almost  always  the  case  with  the  majority,  even  of  the  first 
class.  ...  It  scarcely  ever  entered  the  heads  of  our  teachers 
to  question  us  about  the  ideas  hidden  in  the  great  long  words 
and  spacious  sentences.  It  is  possible  that  they  did  not 
always  discover  it  themselves.  '  Speak  up  there,  and  not 
read  like  a  mouse  in  a  cheese,  and  mind  your  stops,'  .  .  .  such 
were  the  principal  directions  respecting  the  important  art  of 
elocution.  Important  it  was  most  certainly  considered ;  for 
each  class  must  read  twice  in  the  forenoon  and  the  same 
in  the  afternoon,  from  a  quarter  to  a  half  hour  each  time 
according  to  the  size  of  the  class.  Had  they  read  but  once 
or  twice,  and  but  little  at  a  time,  and  this  with  nice  and  very 
profitable  attention  to  tone  and  sense,  parents  would  have 
thought  the  master  most  miserably  deficient  in  duty,  and 
their  children  cheated  out  of  their  rights.  ...  It  ought  not 
to  be  omitted  that  the  Bible,  particularly  the  New  Testa- 
ment, was  the  reading  twice  a  day  generally,  for  all  the 
classes  adequate  to  words  of  more  than  one  syllable.  It  was 
the  reading  of  several  of  the  younger  classes  under  some 
teachers.  As  far  as  my  own  experience  and  observation 
tended,  reverence  for  the  sacred  volume  was  not  deepened 
by  this  constant  but  exceedingly  careless  use." 


OTHER  STUDIES  369 

Connected  with  the  reading  was  the  spelling.  In  the 
earliest  days  this  was  unknown  as  a  separate  study.  Deacon 
Hawes  states  that  "  when  the  spelling  book  was  first  intro- 
duced the  good  old  ladies  appeared  to  fear  that  religion 
would  be  banished  from  the  world."  But  at  Boston,  in  17 19, 
many  years  earlier,  among  the  directions  given  the  masters 
was  this,  "  That  proper  seasons  be  stated  and  set  apart  for 
the  encouragement  of  good  spelling."  Thirty  years  later  the 
admonition  was  repeated  when  it  was  "  voted  that  the  select- 
men for  the  time  being  be  and  hereby  are  tJesired  to  recom- 
mend to  the  masters  of  the  schools  that  they  instruct  their 
scholars  in  reading  and  spelling." 

The  early  spelling  books  were  English  :  Fenning's,  Moore's, 
Dilworth's,  and  Perry's.  These  were  used  previous  to  the 
Revolution.  Dilworth's  was  called  "A  New  Guide  to  the  Eng- 
lish Tongue,"  and  contained  not  only  grammar  and  reading 
lessons  but  several  forms  of  prayer.  Perry's  was  called  "  The 
Only  Sure  Guide  to  the  English  Tongue." 

A  peculiar  method  of  teaching  spelling  was  that  adopted 
by  Mr.  Clark  Rodman  of  Newport,  as  described  by  Channing. 
"  His  manner  of  conducting  the  spelling  was  original.  The 
word  being  given  out,  followed  by  a  blow  from  a  strap  on 
his  desk,  the  whole  class  simultaneously  would  bellow  out  the 
word, — say  the  word  multiplication,  —  properly  divided.  His 
ear  was  so  true,  that  he  easily  detected  any  misspelling. 
When  this  happened  he  would  demand  the  name  of  the 
scholar  who  had  failed.  If  there  was  any  hesitancy  in  giving 
the  name,  the  whole  class,  instead  of  being  dismissed,  was 
detained  until  by  repeated  trials  accuracy  was  obtained.  So 
many  voices  upon  a  single  word  in  so  many  keys  produced 
an  amusing  jingle,  which  invariably  attracted  to  the  spot 
all  passers-by." 

Not  only  spelling  but  geography,  history,  and  English 
grammar  seem  to  have  been  direct  descendants  of  the  read- 
ing lesson.   As  the  Bible  ceased  to  be  the  sole  textbook  and 


370  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

as  the  desire  for  a  broader  education  increased,  readers  of 
various  kinds  were  produced,  which  more  or  less  covered  the 
knowledge  desired,  and  in  time  the  new  subjects  became 
distinct  branches  of  education.  In  many  places  there  was 
great  opposition  to  this  additional  burden. 

A  letter  from  Noah  Webster  to  Henry  Barnard,  written 
in  1840  and  referring  to  the  early  schools,  gives  some  inter- 
esting particulars  of  the  new  textbooks.  "  When  I  was  young 
or  before  the  Revolution  .  .  .  the  books  used  were  chiefly  or 
wholly  Dilworth's  spelling  book,  the  Psalter,  Testament  and 
Bible.  No  geography  was  studied  before  the  publication  of 
Dr.  Morse's  small  books  on  the  subject,  about  the  year  1786 
or  1787.  No  history  was  read  as  far  as  my  knowledge  extends, 
for  there  was  no  abridged  history  of  the  United  States. 
Except  the  books  above  mentioned  no  book  for  reading  was 
used  before  the  publication  of  the  third  part  of  my  Institute 
in  1785.  In  some  of  the  early  editions  of  that  book  I  intro- 
duced short  notes  of  the  geography  and  history  of  the  United 
States  and  these  led  to  more  enlarged  descriptions  of  the 
country.  In  1788,  at  the  request  of  Dr.  Morse,  I  wrote  an 
account  of  the  transactions  in  the  United  States  after  the  Rev- 
olution, which  account  fills  nearly  twenty  pages  in  the  first 
volume  of  his  octavo  editions.  Before  the  Revolution  and  for 
some  years  after,  no  slates  were  used  in  the  common  schools, 
all  writing  and  the  operations  in  arithmetic  were  on  paper ; 
the  teacher  wrote  the  copies  and  gave  the  sums  in  arithmetic, 
few  or  none  of  the  pupils  having  any  books  as  a  guide. 

"  The  introduction  of  my  spelling  book,  first  published  in 
1783,  produced  a  great  change  in  the  department  of  spelling, 
and  from  the  information  I  can  gain,  spelling  was  taught 
with  more  care  and  accuracy  for  twenty  years  or  more  after 
that  period  than  it  has  been  since  the  introduction  of  multi- 
plied books  and  studies.  No  English  grammar  was  generally 
taught  in  the  common  schools  when  I  was  young,  except  that 
in  Dilworth  and  that  to  no  good  purpose." 


OTHER  STUDIES  3/1 

Littlefield  says  of  the  Morse  geography  :  '"  Morse's  Geog- 
raphy Made  Easy,  1784,  was  the  first  American  geography. 
His  abridgment  began  to  be  a  reading  book  at  the  year  1800. 
When  geography  began  to  be  read  in  our  public  schools,  and 
class  books  were  read  long  before  any  lessons  were  recited  or 
any  maps  used,  Mr.  Brigham  prepared  the  small  astronomical 
and  geographical  catechism  based  upon  Dr.  Morse's  school 
geography  which  was  read  occasionally  by  the  highest  class 
in  the  Boston  reading  schools.  Many  copies  of  the  catechism 
were  sold,  over  a  hundred  thousand,  and  meager  though  it 
was,  it  was  the  only  book  used,  and  was  recited  literally  with- 
out any  explanation  or  illustration  by  teacher  or  pupil." 

Another  popular  series  of  textbooks  was  that  written  by 
Caleb  Bingham,  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  in  1782.  He 
issued  six  in  all,  and  they  had  a  remarkable  sale.  The 
"Young  Ladies'  Accidence"  passed  through  twenty  editions, 
and  there  were  issued  not  less  than  a  hundred  thousand 
copies.  Of  the  "  Child's  Companion,"  about  a  hundred  and 
eighty  thousand  were  sold;  of  the  "American  Preceptor," 
six  hundred  and  forty  thousand  ;  of  the  "  Columbian  Orator," 
about  a  hundred  and  ninety  thousand  ;  of  the  "  Youthful  Cate- 
chism," a  hundred  thousand ;  of  "Juvenile  Letters,"  twenty- 
five  thousand  ;  in  all,  one  million  two  hundred  fifty  thousand. 

As  nowadays,  new  subjects  suffered  for  lack  of  competent 
instruction.  Thus  at  Oxford,  in  1780,  James  Butler  stated 
"  he  learned  grammar  from  one  Shumway,  while  the  other 
children,  his  brothers  and  sisters,  were  the  scholars  of  a  Dr. 
Walker,  who  for  fear  of  betraying  his  own  ignorance  would 
never  let  them  parse."  At  Boston,  in  1789,  "in  grammar 
the  custom  was  to  recite  six  or  more  lines  once  a  fortnight 
and  to  go  through  the  book  three  times  before  any  applica- 
tion of  it  was  made  to  what  was  called  parsing."  At  Wood- 
stock, Vermont,  about  1700,  "  the  play  and  idle  time  for  the 
school,  so  to  speak,  was  when  the  large  grammar  class  was 
parsing.    To  this  exercise  the  teacher  gave  an  hour,  leaning 


372  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

back  in  his  chair  meanwhile,  with  feet  placed  on  the  table, 
and  during  the  exercise,  the  rest  of  the  school  might  leave 
their  seats,  exchange  articles,  and  do  various  other  things 
without  asking  permission." 

English  grammar  was  not  considered  essential  to  a  girl's 
education,  as,  at  Portsmouth,  in  a  girls'  private  school,  "  Mr. 
Dearborn  wanted  to  get  up  a  class  in  grammar  but  could 
only  prevail  upon  six  scholars  to  join.  Many  persons  thought 
it  an  unnecessary  branch  for  misses  to  attend  to.  The  gram- 
mars were  obtained  from  Boston.  I  have  mine  still,  bought 
in  March,  1781."  And  so  late  as  1820,  at  Glastenbury, 
Connecticut,  there  was  a  unanimous  vote  of  the  Board  of 
Visitors  "  that  the  several  instructors  of  the  district  schools 
in  this  society  be  directed  to  instruct  the  children  in  their 
respective  schools  in  the  rudiments  of  literature,  religion, 
morals  and  manners  ;  particularly  in  a  knowledge  of  spelling, 
reading  and  writing,  and  they  are  directed  not  to  instruct  the 
children  in  arithmetic,  grammar  and  geography  during  regu- 
lar school  hours."  And  in  1828  a  pamphlet  issued  in  Con- 
necticut states :  "  Spelling,  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic 
are  taught  in  nearly  every  school.  Geography  and  grammar 
have  within  a  few  years  been  introduced  very  extensively, 
but  in  many  places  not  without  great  opposition.  Even  arith- 
metic until  within  a  few  years  was  excluded  from  many  schools 
during  the  day,  and  only  permitted  to  be  taught  in  the  eve- 
ning schools.  Grammar  and  geography  were  opposed,  but 
with  less  violence." 

Burton's  description  of  the  methods  of  teaching  writing  is 
applicable  to  the  schools  of  nearly  two  centuries.  He  began 
his  writing  at  nine  years  of  age.  "  I  had  bought  me  a  new 
birch  ruler,  and  had  given  a  third  of  my  wealth,  four  cents, 
for  it.  To  this  I  had  appended,  by  a  well-twisted  flaxen  string, 
a  plummet  of  my  own  running,  whittling  and  scraping.  I 
had  hunted  up  an  old  pewter  inkstand  which  had  come 
down  from  the  ancestral  eminence  of  my  great-grandfather, 


OTHER  STUDIES  373 

for  aught  I  know.  ...  I  had  selected  one  of  the  fairest 
quills  out  of  an  enormous  bunch.  Half  a  quire  of  foolscap 
had  been  folded  into  the  shape  of  a  writing  book  by  the  ma- 
ternal hand,  and  covered  with  brown  paper,  nearly  as  thick 
as  sheepskin.  ...  At  the  proper  time  my  writing  book, 
which  with  my  quill  I  had  handed  to  the  master  on  entering, 
was  returned  to  me,  with  a  copy  set  and  paper  ruled  and  pen 
made.  .  .  .  The  first  winter  I  splashed  two,  and  the  next 
three  writing  books  with  inky  puddles  in  learning  coarse 
hand  ;  and  after  all  I  had  gained  not  much  in  penmanship. 
.  .  .  The  third  winter  I  commenced  small  hand.  .  .  .  Some 
of  our  teachers  were  accustomed  to  spend  a  few  minutes, 
forenoon  and  afternoon,  in  going  round  among  the  writers 
to  see  that  they  held  the  pen  properly,  and  took  a  decent  de- 
gree of  pains.  But  the  majority  of  them,  according  to  present 
recollections,  never  stirred  from  the  desk  to  superintend  this 
branch.  .  .  .  Some  of  the  teachers  set  the  copies  at  home 
in  the  evening,  but  most  set  them  in  school.  Six  hours  per 
day  were  all  that  custom  required  of  a  teacher ;  of  course 
half  an  hour  at  home  spent  in  the  matters  of  the  school 
would  have  been  time  and  labor  not  paid  for,  and  a  gratuity 
not  particularly  expected." 

Deacon  Hawes,  who  has  been  so  often  quoted,  states, 
"  The  master  would  be  writing  copies,  setting  sums,  making 
and  mending  pens,  &c.,  while  nearly  all  the  scholars  would 
be  playing  or  idle."  When  he  became  a  teacher,  he  says : 
"  I  gave  out  the  copies  and  made  as  many  mend  their  pens 
as  could.  If  they  had  no  inkstands,  which  was  the  case  with 
many,  I  would  send  one  after  shells  and  put  cotton  therein. 
The  ink  I  found  and  charged  it  to  the  school.  .  .  .  When 
I  dismissed  'he  school  I  would  examine  each  one's  writing." 

In  the  early  days  paper  was  very  costly  and  of  poor  qual- 
ity. At  Dover,  in  1777,  the  master  "charged  five  shillings 
for  a  quire  of  writing  paper."  Even  in  1775,  at  Sanbomton, 
"some  of  the  scholars  wrote  upon  birch  bark." 


374  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

The  age  at  which  pupils  should  begin  to  write  was  fixed 
at  Framingham,  in  1825,  thus  :  "That  no  scholar  shall  be 
allowed  to  write  at  any  school  under  the  age  of  ten  years, 
unless  the  district  vote  otherwise."  Boston,  in  1789,  fixed 
the  age  at  which  pupils  should  begin  the  making  of  pens,  one 
of  the  chief  duties  of  the  old-time  schoolmaster.  Children 
"  should  begin  to  learn  arithmetic  at  eleven  years  of  age,  — 
at  twelve  they  should  be  taught  to  make  pens."  But  the  first 
master  at  Dorchester,  in  1639,  was  treated  with  a  noble 
liberality  so  far  as  penmanship  was  concerned.  "  Where  he 
is  bound  to  teach  to  write,  it  shall  be  left  to  his  liberty  in 
that  point  of  teaching  to  write,  only  to  do  what  he  can  con- 
veniently therein." 

The  old-fashioned  "  singing  skewl,"  so  often  imitated  to- 
day as  a  means  of  entertainment,  was  occasionally  supported 
by  the  town.  These  schools  were  not  for  children  but  for 
adults,  and  their  purpose  was  largely  to  improve  the  church 
singing.  At  first  they  were  sustained  by  private  subscription, 
but  "  when  their  efficiency  was  recognized,  supported  by  the 
town."  Hatfield  and  Hadley  had  such  schools  in  1768  and 
1 77 1.  "Singing  schools  were  held  sometimes  in  private 
houses  and  sometimes  in  the  meetinghouse." 

Northampton,  in  1791,  voted  to  empjoy  a  singing  master 
"  to  instruct  the  singers  in  the  art  of  Psalmody  for  three 
months."  He  was  paid  three  pounds  for  his  services.  "  From 
this  time  onward  the  singing  master  became  a  fixture  and 
frequent  items  for  his  payment  may  be  found  in  the  record 
of  town  expenses."  In  1794,  in  answer  to  a  petition  "  pray- 
ing that  a  teacher  of  music  might  be  employed  at  the  public 
charge,"  the  selectmen  were  directed,  "  if  they  think  neces- 
sary, to  hire  a  singing  master  at  the  expense  of  the  town." 
In  1795  '"  Elias  Mann  was  employed  by  the  town  to  teach 
singing  school,  Thursday,  Friday,  and  Saturday  evenings 
during  the  months  of  December  and  January.  He  was  paid 
twenty-six  dollars  for  his  services  and  was  to  lead  the  singing 


OTHER  STUDIES  375 

on  the  Sabbath."  He  must  have  been  successful,  for  in  1798 
"  Mr.  Mann  was  again  hired  to  conduct  the  singing  school 
two  days  in  a  week  from  November  to  May,  for  which  he 
was  to  be  paid  fifty  dollars."  In  1800  the  usual  vote  to  hire 
a  singing  master  for  two  months  was  passed. 

Sudbury,  in  1797,  "granted  thirty  dollars  for  the  purpose 
of  teaching  a  singing  school  for  one  month."  In  1801  a 
committee  "was  appointed  by  the  town  to  get  a  singing 
master  and  to  regulate  the  singing  society.  Sessions  were 
held  in  the  schoolhouses  of  the  different  districts.  "  Ten 
dollars  was  granted  that  year  to  pay  the  master."  In  1802 
the  town  voted  "to  have  Dr.  Belknap's  Psalms  and  Hymns 
introduced  and  made  use  of  in  the  singing  society."  In 
1 82 1  twenty  dollars  were  allowed  for  the  society,  and  the 
next  year  thirty  dollars. 

Other  towns  that  have  preserved  records  of  singing  schools 
are  Brooklina^  Medfield,  and  Northfield,  Brookline,  in  1804, 
"voted  that  the  sum  of  sixty  dollars  be  granted  and  is  hereby 
granted  for  the  purpose  of  hiring  a  singing  master  the  ensu- 
ing winter."  Similar  appropriations  for  singing  were  made 
for  many  years.  At  Medfield,  in  1804,  "an  article  was  in- 
serted in  the  town  meeting  warrant  to  see  if  the  town  would 
appropriate  a  sum  of  money  for  the  support  of  a  singing 
school.  Negatived  at  this  time,  though  a  few  years  after- 
wards such  appropriations  were  made."  At  Northfield  "  in 
some  years  the  town  voted  to  hire  a  master  to  instruct  in 
reading,  writing  and  singing  for  one  month  in  addition  to 
the  usual  winter  school." 

Vocational  education  is  one  of  the  latest  ideas  in  peda- 
gogy, but  there  are  some  traces  of  it  in  early  times.  Spin- 
ning was  the  precise  form  that  appealed  to  our  ancestors, 
though  we  must  not  forget  that  sewing  was  one  of  the  im- 
portant studies  in  the  girls'  schools.  The  first  reference  to 
the  teaching  of  spinning  is  rather  obscure.  It  comes  from 
Cambridge,  in  1656,  when  five  men  were  "  nominated  and 


376  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

appointed  by  the  selectmen  to  execute  the  order  of  the  Gen- 
eral Court  for  the  improvement  of  all  the  families  within  the 
limits  of  the  town,  in  spinning  and  clothing,  and  each  of  the 
said  persons  are  to  see  to  the  execution  of  the  said  order  in 
their  respective  quarters  of  the  town." 

In  1720,  at  Boston,  owing  to  the  great  number  of  Scotch- 
Irish  immigrants,  who  were  largely  spinners  by  trade,  a  town 
meeting  was  called  to  consider  the  advisability  of  setting  up 
a  spinning  school.  It  was  voted  '"  that  the  town  will  proceed 
to  the  choice  of  a  committee  to  consider  about  promoting  of 
a  spinning  school  or  schools,  for  the  instruction  of  the  chil- 
dren of  this  town  in  spinning,  as  is  expressed  in  the  warrant 
for  the  calling  of  this  meeting,  to  be  seven  in  number." 
Some  months  later  the  committee  reported  :  "  [i.  Some  con- 
siderations about  building.]  2.  That  if  the  town  do  not  see 
cause  to  build,  they  may  hire  a  house  for  that  use  and  employ 
some  suitable  person  that  is  a  weaver,  having  a»wife  that  can 
instruct  children  in  spinning  flax,  to  take  care  of  the  school, 
the  town  supplying  them  with  money  for  a  time  on  good 
security,  that  they  may  be  provided  with  flax  for  the  use  of 
such  children  as  shall  be  sent  to  them  by  the  overseers  of  the 
poor.  3.  That  such  children  as  the  town  sends  to  learn  the 
art  of  spinning,  the  town  pay  for  their  subsistence  the  first 
three  months  and  the  master  have  the  benefit  of  their  work, 
but  from  that  time  they  be  allowed  by  the  master  of  the 
house  what  they  shall  earn  for  their  support.  4.  That  if  any 
poor  people  will  of  themselves  send  their  children  to  learn, 
the  master  be  obliged  to  teach  them  on  the  same  terms  as  if 
they  were  sent  by  the  overseers  of  the  poor.  5.  That  the 
town  provide  twenty  spinning-wheels  for  such  children  as 
shall  be  sent  on  the  town's  account,  which  may  be  always 
kept  for  that  number,  and  if  after  they  have  been  fully  in- 
structed their  parents  take  them  home,  they  shall  spin  for 
the  master  of  the  school  at  a  set  price.  6.  That  a  premium 
be  allowed  by  the  town  of  five  pounds  for  the  best  piece  of 


OTHER  STUDIES  377 

linen  spun  and  wove  here,  provided  it  be  worth  four  shillings 
per  yard,  as  adjudged  by  the  overseers.  7.  That  if  the  town 
do  not  see  cause  either  to  build  or  hire  a  house,  they  may  yet 
give  encouragement  to  such  as  will  set  up  a  school,  by  allow- 
ing them  two  or  three  hundred  pounds  on  good  security  with- 
out interest,  that  they  may  be  enabled  to  promote  so  good  an 
undertaking,  which  we  conceive  will  be  a  very  great  advan- 
tage to  us."  The  report  was  printed  and  put  over  to  the 
annual  meeting.  Later  the  school  was  built  and  there  was 
much  interest,  but  it  did  not  flourish. 

Likewise  the  records  of  Charlestown  in  1754  read,  "That 
the  old  town  house  be  improved  for  a  spinning  school  and 
the  sum  of  fifty  pounds,  old  tenor,  and  no  more,  to  repair  the 
same  for  that  purpose." 

The  project  was  revived  in  Boston  in  1769,  as  we  learn 
from  the  report  of  a  committee.  This  school  also  was  in- 
tended for  poor  children.  "Your  committee  are  therefore  of 
opinion  that  it  would  answer  a  very  valuable  purpose  if  a 
number  of  schools  were  set  up  at  different  parts  of  the  town, 
and  a  suitable  number  of  schoolmistresses  were  procured  and 
employed  to  learn  such  children  to  spin,  free  of  charge,  as 
the  overseers  shall  from  time  to  time  certify  are  proper  ob- 
jects of  such  charity.  That  for  this  purpose  a  number  of 
suitable  rooms  be  hired  and  schoolmistresses  procured  and  a 
number  of  spinning  wheels  and  a  quantity  of  wool  purchased 
for  the  immediate  employment  of  such  children  &c."  This 
was  voted,  and  five  hundred  pounds  were  raised  and  put 
into  the  hands  of  the  overseers  of  the  poor  to  carry  out 
the  project. 


XXI 

SCHOOL  SESSIONS  AND  YEARS 

In  the  early  times  the  sessions  were  long  and  the  vaca- 
tions few,  in  fact  the  effort  seems  to  have  been  to  demand 
of  teacher  and  pupils  the  hours  of  a  day  laborer.  It  was 
but  gradually  that  more  progressive  views  were  taken.  Un- 
doubtedly the  pupils  absented  themselves  almost  at  will,  or 
at  their  parents'  will,  while  the  teacher,  if  he  kept  faithfully 
the  hours  assigned  him,  must  have  many  times  gone  through 
the  form  of  teaching  merely,  if  indeed  he  did  so  much.  The 
older  and  more  populous  towns  generally  demanded  shorter 
hours  than  the  newer  and  less  populous.  In  those  places 
where  the  moving  school  was  in  vogue,  although  the  schools 
were  in  continuous  session,  they  were  seldom  held  in  one 
place  long  enough  for  a  pupil  to  get  the  full  benefit  of  them. 
In  the  larger  places  a  pupil  could  attend  the  central  school 
all  the  year  round.  The  moving  school  put  education  within 
the  reach  of  some  and  removed  it  from  others  ;  the  length  of 
time  the  draught  was  offered  depended  on  the  amount  paid 
by  the  neighborhood  in  which  he  lived.  It  was  out  of  this 
that  the  school  taxation  by  parishes  and  districts  grew. 

Among  the  earliest  detailed  set  of  rules  is  that  of  Dor- 
chester in  1645,  which  states:  "That  from  the  beginning 
of  the  first  month  until  the  end  of  the  seventh,  he  shall 
every  day  begin  to  teach  at  7  of  the  clock  in  the  morning 
and  dismiss  his  scholars  at  5  in  the  afternoon ;  and  for  the 
other  five  months,  that  is,  from  the  beginning  of  the  eighth 
month  until  the  end  of  the  twelfth  month,  it  shall  every  day 
begin  at  8  of  the  clock  in  the  morning  and  end  at  4  of  the 
clock  in  the  afternoon.  .  .  .  Every  day  in  the  year  the  usual 

378 


SCHOOL  SESSIONS  AND  YEARS  379 

time  for  dismissing  at  noon  shall  be  at  11  and  to  begin  again 
at  I,  except  that  every  second  day  in  the  week  he  shall  call 
his  scholars  together  between  1 2  and  i  of  the  clock  to  ex- 
amine what  they  have  learned  on  the  Sabbath  day  preceding, 
at  which  time  also  he  shall  take  notice  of  any  misdemeanors 
or  disorders  that  any  of  his  scholars  shall  have  committed  on 
the  Sabbath,"  etc. 

The  distinction  between  summer  and  winter  occurs  con- 
tinually, due  to  the  lack  of  any  method  of  artificial  lighting, 
the  difficulty  of  heating  the  schoolroom,  and  also  doubtless 
to  the  slowness  of  travel  in  winter.  Watertown,  in  1677, 
made  a  very  marked  difference,  for  in  a  contract  with  a 
master  for  an  English  school  is  this :  "  The  selectmen 
agree  also  that  the  said  school  shall  be  kept  from  the  first 
of  May  to  the  last  of  August  8  hours  a  day,  to  wit,  to  begin 
at  7  in  the  morning  and  not  to  break  up  until  5  at  night, 
noon  time  excepted,  and  from  the  last  of  August  until  the 
last  of  October,  6  hours  in  the  day,  so  also  in  the  months  of 
March  and  April,  and  the  four  winter  months  to  begin  at  10 
of  the  clock  in  the  morning  and  continue  until  2  of  the  clock 
in  the  afternoon."  Years  later,  in  1704,  the  schoolmaster 
"  agreed  to  keep  school  half  a  year,  seven  hours  a  day," 
and  a  year  later  he  was  engaged  to  teach  "  first  quarter,  seven 
hours  ;  second  quarter,  eight  hours." 

At  New  Haven  the  rules  were  more  exacting.  In  1684 
"the  grammar  school  was  to  be  kept  nine  hours  a  day  in 
summer,  less  in  winter,  and  six  days  in  the  week."  More 
definitely  the  third  rule  states  "  that  the  master  and  scholars 
duly  attend  the  school  hours,  viz.,  from  six  in  the  morning 
to  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  and  from  one  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  to  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  in  summer  and 
four  in  winter."  Forty  years  later  they  relaxed  a  little,  for 
in  1729  it  was  "agreed  with  Theophilus  Munson  for  his 
son,  Daniel  Munson,  to  keep  the  grammar  school  for  one 
year,  to  begin  the  22nd  of  November,  and  to  keep  about 


38o  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

seven  hours  in  the  day  in  the  winter  season,  and  about  eight 
hours  in  the  summer  season  in  each  day,  and  not  to  exceed 
twelve  play  days  in  the  year." 

At  Salem,  in   1700,  the  school  bell  was  to  be  rung  at 

7  A.M.  and  5  P.M.  from  March  i  to  November  i,  and  at 

8  A.M.  and  4  p.m.  from  November  i  to  March  i,  and  "the 
school  to  begin  and  end  accordingly,"  while  at  Boston,  in 
1 7 19,  among  the  directions  given  masters  was  this,  "That 
the  accustomary  school  hours  be  duly  attended." 

The  moving  school  automatically  furnished  the  pupils  with 
vacations,  often  very  long  ones.  At  Windsor,  Connecticut, 
in  1674,  a  schoolmaster  was  engaged  to  keep  school  '"  five 
months  south  and  seven  months  north  of  the  rivulet."  Five 
years  later  another  man  was  engaged  to  keep  six  months  on 
each  side  of  the  rivulet.  At  Maiden,  in  1 7 1 1 ,  a  schoolmaster 
was  engaged  for  six  months.  The  school  was  to  be  "  kept 
the  first  four  months  in  Mr.  Parsons'  house,  and  then  the 
school  shall  be  removed  into  some  house  towards  the  north 
end  of  the  town  the  other  two  months."  At  Boxford,  in  1725, 
the  schools  were  held  in  private  houses,  so  that  children  got 
about  one  month's  schooling  in  the  year. 

The  teacher  was  not  always  forgotten,  however,  as  is 
shown  by  the  action  of  Sudbury,  in  1703,  which  "voted 
and  agreed  as  a  free  will  to  give  unto  Mr.  Picher  two  days 
in  every  quarter  of  his  year  to  visit  his  friends  if  he  see 
cause  to  take  up  with  it." 

Terms  frequently  varied  according  to  conditions.  In  1727 
Brookline  had  two  schools,  a  master  in  each  for  four  months, 
and  a  school  dame  in  each  for  eight  months.  In  1729  it  was 
voted  that  there  should  be  a  mistress  in  each  school  four 
months,  but  there  is  nothing  said  about  a  master.  The  next 
year  it  was  voted  to  have  school  ten  months,  five  kept  by  a 
master  and  five  by  a  mistress.  But  in  1732  the  schoolmaster 
was  kept  only  four  months,  and  it  was  voted  not  to  have  any 
mistress  that  year. 


SCHOOL  SESSIONS  AND  YEARS  381 

Here  are  some  examples  of  the  moving  school.  Spencer, 
in  173 1,  voted  "  to  provide  a  schoolmaster  to  read  and  write, 
to  be  kept  three  months  in  three  parts  of  the  town."  At 
Lunenburg,  in  1739,  a  "lawful  schoolmaster"  was  engaged 
for  three  months,  six  weeks  in  one  house  and  six  weeks  in 
another.  An  extreme  case  was  Gloucester,  which  in  1734 
had  seven  districts,  the  school  being  so  arranged  that  it 
took  three  years  to  make  the  circuit.  If  a  district  did  not 
furnish  a  suitable  place  for  the  school,  it  lost  the  school  for 
the  three  years. 

An  effort  to  please  everybody  is  seen  at  Swanzey,  New 
Hampshire,  which  in  1774  was  divided  into  six  districts, 
'"  but  the  school  in  each  district  shall  be  free  for  any  persons 
in  the  town  to  send  their  children  to,  at  any  time." 

The  change  from  the  moving  to  the  district  school  is 
seen  clearly  at  Dudley,  Massachusetts.  In  1743  school  was 
kept  nine  months,  three  in  the  center  of  the  town  and  three 
at  each  end.  The  school  at  the  center  was  kept  by  a  man, 
the  others  by  women.  In  1745  the  town  was  divided  into 
three  districts,  each  of  which  was  allowed  its  part  of  the 
school  money.  Committees  were  appointed  for  each  district. 
Another  example  of  the  change  is  Westminster,  which  in 
1777  "  voted  to  keep  school  ten  weeks  in  each  schoolhouse 
the  ensuing  year  and  voted  that  the  schools  be  kept  all  at 
once,  or  as  soon  as  masters  can  be  procured."  The  next  year 
it  was  voted  "  that  five  schools  be  set  a-going  at  once." 

The  rules  adopted  at  Haverhill,  in  1790,  were  elaborate. 
"  From  May  ist  to  September  ist  the  schools  should  com- 
mence at  8  A.M.  and  2  p.m.  and  close  at  12  m.  and  6  p.m. 
and  from  September  to  May  should  begin  at  9  a.m.  and 
ii  P.M.  and  close  at  12  m.  and  4I-  p.m."  "There  should  be 
no  school  kept  on  the  afternoon  of  Saturdays  and  Lecture 
Days,  nor  on  the  day  of  the  annual  town  meeting  in  March, 
the  annual  election  day,  the  Fourth  of  July,  and  Tuesday, 
Wednesday,  and   Thursday   of   Commencement   Week  at 


382  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Cambridge."  The  problem  of  female  education  arose  at 
the  same  time  and  Haverhill  also  voted  "that  May  to  Sep- 
tember one  hour  in  the  forenoon  and  the  same  in  the  after- 
noon be  especially  appropriated  for  the  instruction  of  the 
young  misses  or  females,  that  of  consequence  the  common 
school  be  dismissed  daily  for  such  a  period  at  1 1  o'clock  in 
the  forenoon  and  a  like  hour  in  the  afternoon  to  give  time 
for  that  purpose," 

At  Charlestown,  a  year  later,  in  1791,  the  hours  of  in- 
struction for  females  six  months  in  the  year,  from  May  to 
October  inclusive,  were  fixed  at  "  from  1 1  to  i  o'clock  and 
from  4  to  6,"  apparently  the  waste  hours  of  the  boys. 

At  Hingham,  in  1791,  the  session  began  to  approach 
modern  ideas,  for  "  the  masters  were  to  keep  three  hours 
in  the  forenoon,  and  three  in  the  afternoon  each  day  in  the 
week,  except  Saturday  in  the  afternoon." 

Strict  in  theory  but  with  a  comfortable  allowance  for 
human  frailties  was  the  rule  at  Norwich,  in  1782,  in  a 
school  to  which  a  fund  had  been  left.  "The  school  to  be 
kept  eleven  months  in  each  year  and  eight  hours  in  each 
day  from  the  20th  of  March  to  the  20th  of  September,  and 
from  the  21st  of  September  to  the  20th  of  March,  six  hours 
in  each  day,  that  is  to  say,  as  nearly  that  space  of  time  in 
each  day  as  may  reasonably  be  expected."  Another  easy- 
going place  was  Torrington,  Connecticut,  where  in  1790 
"  the  pupils  were  not  punctual  in  attendance  at  nine  o'clock 
or  any  fixed  time.  As  soon  as  a  few  had  arrived  in  the 
morning,  the  teacher  began  the  exercises  of  reading,  which 
was  a  large  part  of  the  school  exercises,  using  the  Bible  in 
a  large  number  of  cases  as  the  reading  book." 

The  gradual  increase  in  vacations  and  holidays  is  shown 
by  the  following : 

At  Roxbury,  in  1789,  "the  school  hours  required  were, 
on  the  average,  seven  and  a  half  per  day  through  the  year. 
...  As  to  vacations  there  were  but  two  in  a  year,  one  of  six 


SCHOOL  SESSIONS  AND  YEARS  383 

days  at  Commencement  time,  the  other  of  two  at  Thanks- 
giving, The  hoHdays,  including  those  of  the  pubHc  lectures 
of  the  First  Parish,  were  in  proportion,  amounting  in  all  to 
about  five  days  in  addition  to  Saturday  afternoons." 

At  Hingham,  in  1791,  masters  were  "allowed  one  day  at 
annual  March  meeting,  one  half  day  at  the  Derby  lecture, 
one  half  day  at  annual  April  meeting,  election  day,  two  days 
for  training  and  four  days  more  at  their  election." 

At  New  Haven,  in  1796,  the  committee  hired  a  grammar 
schoolmaster,  and  agreed  "  that  said  master  have  one  week 
vacation  at  Commencement,  also  one  week  on  the  annual 
election  in  May.  Said  master  is  not  to  indulge  the  scholars 
with  liberty  of  playing  on  Wednesday  in  the  afternoon." 

A  brave  attempt  to  hold  the  masters  to  their  duty,  though 
the  phraseology  is  hardly  clear,  is  shown  at  Weymouth  in 
1 8 10,  when  the  "employment  of  Latin  and  Greek  masters 
was  authorized  and  also  English  masters  who  shall  teach 
equivalent  to  twelve  months  in  the  year." 

The  rules  at  Salem  fifty  years  apart  show  an  interesting 
though  rather  slight  contrast.  The  first  statement  reads : 
"  Term  time  in  the  good  old  days  was  all  the  year  round, 
or  nearly  so.  The  vacations  prescribed  in  1770  were  as  fol- 
lows ;  general  election.  Commencement  Day  and  the  rest  of 
that  week,  fasts,  Thanksgivings,  trainings,  and  Wednesday 
and  Saturday  afternoons,"  while  in  18 18  the  vacations  were 
"one  week  at  election,  another  at  Commencement,  and  a 
third  at  Thanksgiving,  a  day  at  regimental  muster,  one  at 
Christmas,  and  another  on  Independence  Day,  besides  the 
customary  Wednesday  and  Saturday  afternoons." 

These  long  hours  and  unbroken  years  were  not  peculiar 
to  New  England,  but  a  direct  heritage  from  the  mother 
country.  Thus  we  read  that  John  Harvard  in  winter  went 
to  school  from  seven  to  eleven  and  from  one  to  five,  and  in 
the  summer  from  six  to  eleven  and  from  one  to  six. 


XXII 

DISCIPLINE 

Early  discipline  was  rigid,  not  to  say  barbarous,  in  the 
extreme.  This  was  in  direct  continuation  of  English  traditions, 
and  the  Puritan  spirit  did  not  tend  to  soften  it.  George  G. 
Channing,  writing  of  life  in  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  in  the 
years  1793  to  181 1,  has  a  passage  in  his  recollections  which 
well  describes  the  ideals  and  methods.  "  During  my  nonage 
the  Puritan  spirit  did  not  die  out.  It  was  an  age  of  force. 
Punishment  was  deemed  necessary.  Exhibitions  of  authority 
constituted  day  by  day  a  series  of  domestic  tableaux.  The 
discipline  of  the  school  was  in  accordance  with  the  govern- 
ment of  the  home.  It  was  arbitrary,  with  rare  exceptions, 
in  the  extreme.  Children  were  required  to  bow  and  kiss  the 
hand  when  entering  or  leaving  either  home  or  school.  The 
school  to  which  I  was  sent  differed  in  no  respect  from  in- 
ferior ones  in  the  matter  of  corporal  punishment.  The  fer- 
ule and  cowskin  were  almost  deified.  Apologies  increased 
rather  than  abated  the  swellings  of  the  hand  and  the  wales 
upon  the  back.  An  appeal  to  parents  was  of  no  more  avail 
than  beating  the  air." 

If  such  was  the  case  after  the  Revolution,  we  must  be 
prepared  for  even  greater  severity  a  century  and  a  half  be- 
fore. Thus,  among  the  rules  of  Harvard  College  in  1660 
was  this :  "  It  is  hereby  ordered  that  the  president  and  fel- 
lows of  Harvard  College  have  the  power  to  punish  all  mis- 
deeds of  the  young  men  in  their  college.  They  are  to  use 
their  best  judgment,  and  punish  by  fines  or  whipping  in  the 
hall  publicly,  as  the  nature  of  the  offense  shall  call  for." 
How  this  was  carried  out  is  shown  by  a  passage  in  the  diary 
of  Samuel  Sewall,  giving  an  account  of  the  discipline  of  one 

384 


DISCIPLINE  385 

Thomas  Sargent,  a  college  student,  in  June,  1674  :  "  i.  That 
being  convicted  of  speaking  blasphemous  words  concerning 
the  Holy  Ghost,  he  should  be  therefore  publicly  whipped  be- 
fore all  the  scholars.  2.  That  he  should  be  suspended  as  to 
taking  his  degree  of  Bachelor.  3.  Sit  alone  by  himself  in 
the  hall  uncovered  at  meals,  during  the  pleasure  of  the  Presi- 
dent and  fellows,  and  be  in  all  things  obedient,  doing  what 
exercise  was  appointed  him  by  the  President,  or  else  be  finally 
expelled  the  college.  The  first  was  presently  put  in  execu- 
tion in  the  library,  (Mr.  Danforth,  Jr.  being  present)  before 
the  scholars.  He  kneeled  down  and  the  instrument,  Goodman 
Hely,  attended  the  President's  word  as  to  the  performance 
of  his  part  of  the  work.  Prayer  was  had  before  and  after  by 
the  President." 

Earlier  still,  conditions  were  even  worse,  for  in  Palfrey's 
"  Histor)'  of  New  England,"  in  a  passage  concerning  Harvard 
College,  is  the  statement :  "Nathaniel  Eaton,  the  first  person 
placed  at  its  head,  was  soon  deposed,  having  been  convicted 
of  ill-treating  the  students  by  giving  them  twenty  or  thirty 
stripes  at  a  time  and  keeping  them  on  scanty  and  unwhole- 
some food  ;  of  beating  his  subordinate,  Nathaniel  Briscoe,  in 
an  inhuman  manner ;  and  of  other  misdemeanors." 

Still  another  reference  to  the  early  days  of  the  college  is 
the  following  (quoted  from  Winthrop),  dated  at  Newbury  in 
1644  :  ""  Two  of  our  ministers'  sons,  being  students  in  the 
college,  robbed  two  dwelling  houses  in  the  night  of  some 
^15.  Being  found  out  they  were  ordered  by  the  governors 
of  the  college  to  be  there  whipped,  which  was  performed 
by  the  president  himself." 

In  fact,  the  situation  is  summed  up  in  Adams's  "Three 
Episodes  of  Massachusetts  History"  :  "Both  at  home  and 
in  school  the  rod,  —  'the  rawhide,' — was  freely  used;  n6r 
did  either  sex  or  age  afford  any  immunity  from  corporal 
punishment  which  would  now  excite  indignation  if  inflicted 
on  dogs." 


386  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

We  have  a  glimpse  of  the  discipline  of  the  famous  Ezekiel 
Cheever,  in  his  earlier  days,  in  the  following  passage  from 
Blake's  "  Chronicles  of  New  Haven  Green."  According  to 
one  boy,  "  when  they  saw  him  begin  to  stroke  his  pointed 
beard  they  all  got  ready  to  stand  from  under.  ...  It  was 
Mr.  Cheever's  practise  whenever  a  boy  made  a  bad  recitation 
to  flog  another  boy  for  not  exercising  a  better  influence  over 
the  delinquent ;  and  one  chronic  victim  of  these  vicarious  in- 
flictions, in  order  to  escape  them,  was  compelled  to  thrash  a 
lazy  comrade  so  that  he  never  came  to  school  any  more." 

The  above  refers  to  the  Reverend  John  Barnard,  who  tells 
the  story  in  his  Autobiography.  In  his  eighth  year  he  went 
to  Mr.  Cheever's  school.  He  was  so  full  of  play  that  at  length 
Mr.  Cheever  "openly  declared  "you,  Barnard,  I  know  you  can 
do  well  enough  if  you  will,  but  you  are  so  full  of  play  that 
you  hinder  your  classmates  from  getting  their  lessons  ;  and 
therefore  if  any  of  them  cannot  perform  their  duty,  I  shall 
correct  you  for  it.'  One  unlucky  day  one  of  my  classmates 
did  not  look  into  his  book  and  therefore  could  not  say  his 
lessons,  though  "I  called  upon  him  once  and  again  to  mind 
his  book ;  upon  which  our  master  beat  me.  .  ,  .  The  boy 
was  pleased  with  my  being  corrected  and  persisted  in  his 
neglect,  for  which  I  was  still  corrected  and  that  for  several 
days.  In  justice  I  thought  I  ought  to  correct  the  boy  and 
compel  him  to  a  better  temper ;  and  therefore  after  school 
was  done  I  went  up  to  him  and  told  him  I  had  been  beaten 
several  times  for  his  neglect ;  and  since  Master  would  not 
correct  him,  I  would,  and  I  should  do  so  as  often  as  I  was 
corrected  for  him  ;  and  then  I  drubbed  him  heartily.  The 
boy  never  came  to  school  any  more  and  so  that  unhappy 
affair  ended." 

The  following  incidents  at  Boston  are  typical.  Then,  as 
now,  the  schools  were  expected,  in  the  popular  mind,  to  con- 
trol the  children  out  of  school  as  well  as  in.  Thus  in  1757, 
"  whereas  complaint  has  been  made  to  the  selectmen  that 


DISCIPLINE  387 

the  children  behave  very  unmannerly  and  indecently  in  the 
streets  and  use  bad  language,  voted,  that  the  masters  of  the 
respective  schools  in  the  town  be  desired  to  reprove  said 
children  for  such  misdemeanors." 

In  those  days,  likewise,  some  parents  objected  to  their 
children's  being  punished,  for  in  1770  "  Mr.  Thomas  Parker 
entered  a  complaint  against  Mr.  Samuel  Holbrook,  master 
of  the  South  Writing  School,  for  giving  his  son,  as  he  says, 
an  unreasonable  correction." 

A  more  serious  case  is  thus  detailed.  It  happened  in 
1780.  "The  selectmen  being  informed  that  three  children 
of  one  Mr.  Clark  at  Mr.  Hunt's  school,  having  behaved  im- 
properly, were  corrected  by  the  usher,  and  that  the  father  of 
the  children  had  so  resented  it  as  to  strike  the  said  usher  in 
the  school,  Mr.  Nozro  was  directed  to  notify  the  said  Mr. 
Clark  and  Mr.  Croswell  to  attend  the  next  Monday  the 
selectmen,  and  that  in  the  mean  time  the  several  masters  of 
the  town  schools  be  directed  not  to  receive  them."  They 
attended,  "  according  to  the  requirement  of  the  selectmen, 
and  were  both  heard  relative  to  the  complaint  brought  by  the 
usher  against  Mr.  Clark  for  entering  said  school  and  grossly 
insulting  him  before  the  scholars,  by  striking  him,  and  it  ap- 
pearing that  the  complaint  was  well  founded  and  that  Mr. 
Clark's  behavior  had  a  direct  tendency  to  destroy  the  influ- 
ence of  his  usher  and  the  good  order  and  government  of  the 
schools,  it  was  determined  by  the  selectmen  that  no  children 
of  the  said  Clark  shall  have  the  privilege  of  an  education  in 
any  of  the  public  schools  of  the  town,  unless  their  said  father 
shall  go  into  Mr.  Hunt's  school  and  there  make  his  acknowl- 
edgment to  Mr.  Croswell,  in  the  presence  of  the  scholars,  of 
his  imprudent  behavior ;  and  that  this  being  done  the  chil- 
dren of  the  said  Clark  shall  be  again  admitted  on  the  same 
footing  of  other  scholars." 

Again,  in  1785,  a  parent's  complaint  was  thus  handled: 
"  On  complaint  of  Mr.  Joseph  Eaton  that  one  of  his  sons 


388  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

had  received  unsuitable  correction  from  Mr.  Carter  of  the 
writing  school  in  Queen  St.,  the  parties  were  sent  for  and 
after  due  enquiry  it  appeared  that  there  was  not  sufficient 
ground  for  said  complaint.  Mr.  Eaton  was  then  reminded  of 
the  mischief  which  must  follow  from  any  weakening  of  the 
government  of  the  public  schools,  and  Mr.  Carter  was  directed 
to  continue  his  best  endeavors  to  maintain  that  order  which 
has  so  much  contributed  to  the  present  reputation  of  his 
school." 

The  triumph  of  law  and  order  under  this  policy  is  shown 
by  a  letter  from  Caleb  Bingham,  usher  in  the  North  Writing 
School  in  Boston  in  1792  :  "  I  know  you  will  participate  in 
my  joy,  when  I  inform  you  that  I  have  gained  a  complete 
victory  over  my  schoolboys.  They  are  now  nearly  as  still  in 
the  school  as  the  girls.  I  was  obliged  to  relinquish  my 
method  of  detaining  them  after  school  on  account  of  Mr. 
C's  conduct.  I  resolved  then  to  bring  the  matter  to  a  crisis, 
and  know  whether  I  was  master  or  not.  I  laid  aside  all 
books  for  the  day  and  spent  it  in  preaching.  The  next  day 
I  undertook  to  find  what  virtue  there  was  in  the  old  maple 
whig  of  seventy-six  [a  ferule  used  for  many  years].  I  be- 
labored them  from  day  to  day  till  they  finally  gave  me  the 
victory.  Now  and  then  an  old  woman  and  a  few  who  are 
not  worthy  the  name  of  men,  and  who  oppose  the  doctrines 
of  our  forefathers,  have  murmured  and  complained  to  the 
committee.  But  the  boys  are  silent  in  school  and  that  is  the 
main  object  with  us ;  and  I  hope  we  shall  be  able  to  silence 
their  parents.  A  certain  Mr.  Adams  whom  we  used  to  hear 
from  last  winter  came  into  the  school  this  day  with  a  com- 
plaint against  the  usher,  and  told  us  that  he  would  not  allow 
of  his  boys'  receiving  corporal  punishment  on  any  occasion 
whatever.  We  shall  therefore  expel  them  for  the  next 
offense." 

Every  town  and  every  district  has  its  traditions  of  early 
schoolmasters  —  many  of  them  vague  and  without  date,  many 


DISCIPLINE  389 

of  them,  doubtless,  grossly  exaggerated.  Thus  in  Brookline, 
in  early  times  :  "'  Of  Isaac  Adams  who  taught  here  for  twenty 
years  many  strange  tales  survive.  His  methods  of  punish- 
ment are  contrasted  with  his  devotion  to  his  young  wife  and 
his  half  frantic  grief  long  after  her  death.  He  spanked  the 
unruly  boy  with  a  leather  strap  or  made  him  stand  before 
the  class  with  his  nose  wedged  into  the  split  end  of  a  sap- 
ling. In  times  of  great  disorder  he  would  pile  the  boys  in  a 
pyramid  on  the  floor  and  spank  the  unlucky  one  on  the  top. 
For  the  girls  he  had  a  unipod  or  one-legged  stool,  on  which 
a  wrong  doer  must  balance  herself  for  an  hour  or  more." 

At  Dan  vers  "Mr.  Caleb  Clark  was  a  teacher  of  some  re- 
pute for  those  days,  although  he  was  not  considered  a  great 
disciplinarian.  He  was  in  the  habit  of  whittling  a  shingle  in 
school,  and  for  small  offenses  compelling  the  disobedient  to 
pile  the  whittlings  in  the  middle  of  the  room ;  when  this 
was  accomplished,  he  would  kick  them  over,  to  be  picked  up 
again.  He  would  sometimes  require  them  to  watch  a  wire 
suspended  in  the  room,  and  inform  him  when  a  fly  alighted 
on  it.  For  greater  offenses  he  would  sometimes  attempt  to 
frighten  them  into  obedience  by  putting  his  shoulder  under 
the  mantel-piece  and  threatening  to  throw  the  house  down 
upon  them.  It  is  said  of  this  worthy  pedagogue  when  deeply 
engaged  in  a  mathematical  problem,  that  he  became  so  ab- 
sorbed in  the  work  as  to  be  wholly  unconscious  of  anything 
transpiring  around  him,  and  the  boys,  taking  advantage  of 
this  habit,  would  creep  out  of  school  and  skate  and  slide  by 
the  hour  together." 

A  peculiar  form  of  punishment  was  employed  at  Sutton, 
New  Hampshire,  by  a  certain  Master  Hogg,  one  of  the  earliest 
schoolmasters.  "  A  favorite  form  of  discipline  with  him  was 
what  he  termed  '  horsing '  the  offenders,  the  process  being 
as  follows ;  as  fast  as  transgressions  occurred  during  the 
school  hours,  he  would  call  out  the  transgressors  and  keep 
them  standing  in  the  floor  till  he  had  the  good  fortune  to 


390  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

secure  three,  the  requisite  number,  and  then  the  circus  began. 
The  first  offender  was  made  to  get  down  on  all  fours,  the 
second  must  mount  his  back  and  the  third  must  whip  them 
around  the  room  :  then  they  changed  position  till  each  boy 
had  his  turn  at  whipping  once  and  being  whipped  twice." 

More  brutal  still  was  the  method  employed  at  Boscawen, 
New  Hampshire,  in  1797,  by  a  schoolmaster  called  Master 
Thurston.  "'  He  was  a  severe  disciplinarian.  One  of  his 
instruments  for  maintaining  discipline  was  a  leather  ferule, 
composed  of  two  pieces  of  hammered  sole  leather,  with  sheet 
lead  stitched  between  them.  On  one  side  he  punched  four 
holes,  on  the  other  five.  He  usually  asked  a  culprit  which  he 
would  have,  four  holes  or  five.  If  the  trembling  urchin  said 
four,  Master  Thurston  usually  gave  this  reply,  '  For  fear  of 
making  a  mistake  I  will  give  you  both.'  Each  stroke  left  an 
array  of  blisters  the  size  of  the  holes  on  the  aching  palms." 

At  Windham,  New  Hampshire,  in  1766,  "Mr.  Nicholas 
Sauce,  a  British  soldier,  discharged  at  the  close  of  the  old 
French  war,  in  1760,  was  employed  as  a  teacher  for  four 
years  in  district  no.  i.  He  had  been  used  to  severe  dis- 
cipline in  the  British  army  and  was  a  cruel  teacher.  The 
children  trembled  when  he  entered  the  room.  He  whipped 
so  unmercifully  that  some  of  the  scholars  wore  a  hard  cloth 
or  hide  next  their  skin,  to  shield  themselves." 

Two  pedagogues  at  Bath,  Maine,  deserve  to  be  men- 
tioned in  this  unenviable  connection.  An  early  teacher  was 
"Mr.  Patch,  who  was  lame,  went  on  crutches,  and  was  also 
humpbacked.  He  had  a  unique  method  of  punishing  the 
scholars  that  partook  of  barbarism.  He  had  a  wooden  shoe 
made  with  sharp  pegs  at  the  bottom,  and  in  this  he  com- 
pelled obdurate  boys  to  stand  on  one  foot."  Another  teacher 
was  a  Mr.  Weston,  whose  "  favorite  discipline  was  to  scare 
his  unruly  scholars  into  obedience  to  good  order.  He  would 
throw  his  heavy  ruler,  which  was  the  emblem  of  authority  in 
those  days,  with  all  his  force,  over  the  boys'  heads,  to  the 


DISCIPLINE  391 

wall  at  the  back  end  of  the  room,  making  a  great  commotion. 
At  times  he  would  in  like  manner  throw  an  inkstand.  He 
was  said  to  be  an  awful  thrasher  of  the  unruly  boys  of  his 
school."  Still  later,  in  1820,  a  Mr.  Page  kept  the  school 
in  the  same  town.  "His  custom  was  to  open  school  with 
prayers,  during  which  the  scholars  took  advantage  to  become 
noisy,  whereupon  he  would  open  his  eyes,  and,  looking  around 
the  room,  seize  his  great  ruler  of  green  rawhide  and  go 
through  the  entire  school,  striking  the  pupils  over  the  head, 
thrashing  their  body  and  limbs,  until  order  was  restored, 
when  he  would  return  to  his  desk  and  finish  his  prayer." 

Similar  but  apparently  less  vigorous  measures  were  used 
on  like  occasions  at  Springfield,  about  1790.  "The  first 
thing  every  morning  was  Bible  reading,  each  scholar  old 
enough  reading  a  verse.  It  occasionally  happened  that  some 
disturbance  would  compel  the  suspending  of  the  Bible  exer- 
cises. After  the  rod  was  put  away  again  the  reading  would 
be  resumed." 

A  touch  of  rough  humor  is  to  be  seen  in  this  description  of 
punishments  at  Weare,  New  Hampshire,  in  the  late  1 700's. 
"  Much  of  the  time  in  these  old  grammar  schools  was  de- 
voted to  discipline,  and  the  masters  in  those  days  were  not 
stingy  in  the  use  of  the  rod  and  ferule.  Some  of  the  teachers 
spent  nearly  one  half  of  their  time  in  this  exercise,  and  blis- 
tered hands,  swollen  ears,  and  smarting  limbs  were  very  com- 
mon. Milder  punishments  were  'sitting  on  nothing,'  or  on 
the  top  end  of  an  old-fashioned  elm  bark  seat  chair  turned 
down  ;  standing  in  a  corner  face  to  the  wall ;  stooping  down 
to  hold  a  nail  or  peg  in  the  floor,  the  culprit  often  getting  a 
smart  slap  on  his  rear  to  keep  him  from  bending  his  knees ; 
and  being  compelled  to  sit  among  the  girls,  which  in  time 
came  to  be  denominated  capital  punishment." 

Here  is  an  account  of  conditions  at  Yarmouth,  Massa- 
chusetts, about  1770,  by  Deacon  Hawes.  "The  usual  disci- 
pline for  crime  or  disobedience  was  whipping  with  an  apple 


392  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

tree  branch,  with  the  scholar's  jacket  off,  while  one  part  of 
the  school  would  be  nearly  in  tears  and  the  other  part  laugh- 
ing ;  and  as  soon  as  the  master  retired  from  school,  every 
instrument  of  correction  or  torture  would  by  the  scholars 
be  destroyed."  Later,  when  the  deacon  became  a  school- 
master, this  was  one  of  his  methods  :  '"  When  school  was 
about  half  done,  one  scholar  was  sent  for  a  bucket  of  water. 
The  females  were  allowed  to  go  out  all  at  one  time,  but  not 
drink  till  they  came  in,  which  would  be  in  about  five  minutes. 
Then  the  males  went  out  and  were  allowed  to  drink  when 
they  came  in.  Then  the  water  was  emptied  out  of  the  pail, 
and  if  any  scholar  went  out  more  than  one  time,  they  had 
to  stay  in  and  sweep  out  the  schoolhouse  after  school  was 
done." 

A  struggle  at  New  Haven  in  1 797,  in  the  grammar  school, 
is  thus  described :  "  Dr.  James  Murdock  told  me  that  he 
spent  one  third  of  his  time  the  first  quarter  in  trying  to  per- 
suade the  boys  to  behave  with  propriety  without  success, 
when  he  applied  the  rod  vigorously  for  a  while  and  then  let 
matters  slide.  Prof.  Kingsley  informed  that  Pres.  Dwight 
cautioned  him  against  taking  the  school,  for  it  was  so  hard 
that  it  would  probably  injure  his  reputation.  This  was  in 
1799.  A  member  of  the  class  of  181 5  told  me  that  a  boy 
whom  he  attempted  to  chastise  the  first  day  of  his  service 
ran  out  of  the  house  and  that  he  chased  him  home  and  pun- 
ished him  in  his  father's  yard.  Dr.  Azel  Backus  of  the  class 
of  1787,  having  charge  of  the  school  a  few  days  in  behalf 
of  a  friend,  attempted  to  chastise  a  disorderly  boy,  but  found 
the  whole  school  in  motion  to  assault  him.  Retiring  to  a  cor- 
ner of  the  room,  as  the  assailants  approached,  that  able  and 
distinguished  polemic  encountered  and  defeated  the  entire 
force." 

A  milder  punishment,  suitable  for  the  young  children 
in  the  dame  schools,  is  described  by  Henry  K.  Oliver  of 
Salem,  who  says  his  general  uneasiness  often  entitled  him 


DISCIPLINE  393 

to  "  Madam  T's  customary  punishment  of  sundry  smart  taps 
on  the  head  with  the  middle  finger  of  her  right  hand ;  said 
finger  being  armed  for  its  defense  with  a  large  and  rough 
steel  thimble." 

Solitary  confinement  was  common  ;  thus,  in  the  description 
of  a  schoolhouse  at  Reading,  in  1785,  mention  is  made  of  a 
"dark  hole  against  the  chimney  to  put  bad  boys  in,"  and 
in  the  description  of  another,  at  Peterborough,  New  Hamp- 
shire, is  the  statement  that  on  one  side  of  the  chimney  was 
a  small  room  "  used  as  a  dungeon  for  punishment." 

The  small  size  of  the  early  schoolhouses  is  seen  from 
an  account  of  the  one  at  Chester,  New  Hampshire,  in  1763, 
where  the  master  had  a  seat  and  table  in  the  center  of  the 
room,  and  "'  swayed  a  scepter  in  the  form  of  a  hickory 
switch,  long  enough  to  reach  every  scholar  in  the  house." 
At  Temple,  New  Hampshire,  in  1782,  one  master  "used  a 
tattling  stick  and  a  peaked  block  for  correction,"  In  the 
Upneck  district,  a  part  of  Hartford,  about  1825,  "for  pun- 
ishments the  hard  wood  ferule  and  the  apple  tree  switch  were 
commonly  and  freely  used.  Boys  were  also  placed  with  the 
girls  for  punishment." 

Francestown,  New  Hampshire,  contributes  this  of  its  first 
two  men  teachers,  about  1790  :  "So  far  as  flogging  was  con- 
cerned they  discharged  their  duties  faithfully  and  impartially 
and  to  the  letter." 

The  "  Recollections  "  of  Samuel  Breck  show  a  method  of 
avoiding  punishment  that  would  find  short  shrift  in  these 
days.  "  The  Latin  school  in  my  day  was  kept  by  Mr.  Hunt. 
He  was  a  severe  master  and  flogged  heartily.  I  went  on  very 
well  with  him,  mollifying  his  stern  temper  by  occasional 
presents  in  money  which  my  indulgent  father  sent  to  him  by 
me.  Thus  my  short  career  at  his  school  (17  or  18  months) 
passed  without  any  corporal  correction.  I  was  even  some- 
times selected  for  the  honorable  office  of  sawing  and  piling 
his  wood." 


394  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Edward  Everett  describes  a  punishment  that  is  probably 
unique.  Speaking  of  the  schools  he  attended  at  Boston, 
1 800- 1 804,  and  referring  to  Master  Tilotson,  he  says  :  "'  The 
fingers  of  his  right  hand  had  been  contracted  and  stiffened 
in  early  life  by  a  bum,  but  were  fixed  in  just  the  position  to 
hold  a  pen,  penknife,  and  rattan.  As  they  were  also  consider- 
ably indurated,  they  served  as  a  convenient  instrument  of 
discipline.  A  copy  badly  written,  or  a  blotted  page,  was 
sometimes  visited  with  an  infliction  which  would  have  done 
no  discredit  to  the  beak  of  a  bald  eagle." 

The  general  methods  and  spirit  of  this  kind  of  discipline 
are  well  described  by  the  Reverend  Warren  Burton  in  "  The 
District  School  as  It  Was."  '"  Half  the  time  was  spent  in 
calling  up  scholars  for  little  misdemeanors,  trying  to  make 
them  confess  their  faults  and  promise  stricter  obedience,  or 
in  devising  punishments  and  inflicting  them.  Almost  every 
method  was  tried  that  was  ever  suggested  to  the  brain  of 
pedagogue.  Some  were  feruled  on  the  hand,  some  were 
whipped  with  a  rod  on  the  back,  some  were  compelled  to 
hold  out  at  arm's  length  the  largest  book  which  could  be 
found,  or  a  great  leaden  inkstand  till  muscle  and  nerve, 
bone  and  marrow,  were  tortured  with  the  continual  exertion. 
If  the  arm  bent  or  inclined  from  the  horizontal  level,  it  was 
forced  back  again  by  a  knock  of  the  ruler  on  the  elbow.  I 
well  recollect  that  one  poor  fellow  forgot  his  suffering  by 
fainting  quite  away.  This  lingering  punishment  was  more 
befitting  the  vengeance  of  a  savage  than  the  corrective  efforts 
of  a  teacher  of  the  young  in  civilized  life. 

"  The  teacher  had  recourse  to  another  method,  almost,  per- 
haps quite,  as  barbarous.  It  was  standing  in  a  stooping  posture 
with  the  finger  on  the  head  of  a  nail  in  the  floor.  It  was  a 
position  not  particularly  favorable  to  health  of  body  or  sound- 
ness of  mind ;  the  head  being  brought  about  as  low  as  the 
knees,  the  blood  rushing  to  it  and  pressing  unnaturally  on  the 
veins,  often  caused  a  dull  pain  and  a  staggering  dizziness,  .  .  . 


DISCIPLINE  395 

The  above  punishments  were  sometimes  Tendered  doubly  pain- 
ful by  their  taking  place  directly  in  front  of  the  enormous  fire, 
so  that  the  pitiable  culprit  was  roasted  as  well  as  racked. 
Another  mode  of  punishment — an  antiwhispering  process — 
was  setting  the  jaws  at  a  painful  distance  apart  by  inserting 
a  chip  perpendicularly  between  the  teeth.  Then  we  occasion- 
ally had  our  hair  pulled,  our  noses  tweaked,  our  ears  pinched 
and  boxed,  or  snapped  perhaps  with  India-rubber ;  this  last 
the  perfection  of  ear-tingling  operations.  There  were  minor 
penalties,  moreover,  for  minor  faults.  The  uneasy  urchins 
wei^e  clapped  into  the  closet,  thrust  under  the  desk,  or 
perched  on  its  top.  Boys  were  made  to  sit  in  the  girls' 
seats,  amusing  the  school  with  their  grinning  awkwardness, 
and  the  girls  were  obliged  to  sit  on  the  masculine  side  of  the 
aisle,  with  crimsoned  necks  and  faces  buried  in  their  aprons." 

This  brief  survey  of  the  methods  and  spirit  of  the  early 
schools  can  only  make  us  the  more  grateful  for  the  vast 
change  that  has  taken  place  in  educational  requirements, 
textbooks,  discipline,  and  ideals  since  the  "  good  old  times." 
The  picture  that  we  must  draw  of  most  of  these  temples  of 
learning  is  unflattering  in  the  extreme. 

The  first  schoolhouse  was  the  meetinghouse  or  a  dwelling 
house.  Then  came  the  regular  schoolhouse,  a  bleak  car- 
penter's box,  heated  by  fireplaces  or  not  heated  at  all  till 
after  1800,  with  no  light,  with  no  desks  for  the  smaller 
pupils,  with  few  books,  no  blackboards,  globes,  or  maps,  no 
lead  pencils,  and  in  some  places  no  paper,  but  only  birch 
bark.  The  smaller  boys  were  seated  on  a  bench  with  no 
back,  their  feet  off  the  floor,  swinging  to  and  fro.  There 
was  nothing  to  occupy  their  attention  but  the  master's  scowl 
or  some  crawling  flies.  Weary,  deadened,  stupefied  by  in- 
action, they  sat  there  day  in  and  day  out,  called  up  at  long 
intervals  to  drawl  out  a  few  words  or  sentences  from  the 
Psalter  or  New  Testament.  The  larger  boys  sat  facing  the 
blank  wall,  with  the  Bible  or  sum  book,  some  homemade 


396  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

ink  and  schoolmade  quill  pens,  working  day  after  day  on  a 
sum  or  two,  dawdling  the  long  day  through.  It  is  wonderful 
how  they  could  spend  so  much  time  doing  nothing.  A  good 
day's  work,  with  the  school  hours  from  seven  to  eleven  and 
one  to  five  in  summer,  and  somewhat  less  in  winter,  was 
half  a  page  of  writing  and  two  or  three  sums,  with  one 
reading  lesson.  No  wonder  that  Satan  found  mischief  for 
idle  hands,  and  that  the  discipline  of  these  schools  was  harsh 
and  cruel.  The  spirit  of  the  age  was  stern  and  forbidding. 
The  severity  which  took  the  week-old  babe  to  the  baptismal 
font  in  which  the  ice  must  be  broken  to  reach  the  water 
carried  him  to  day  school  at  two  years  and  a  half  with  his 
hornbook.  The  spirit  of  repression  found  in  the  home  and 
church  must  be  found  in  the  school. 

^Out  of  all  this,  what  ?  The  survival  of  the  fittest,  a  sturdy, 
self-contained,  self-reliant  people  —  poor  readers,  poor  spellers, 
but  generally  good  writers,  with  no  knowledge  of  geography 
or  history  or  grammar,  with  little  knowledge  of  arithmetic, 
but  sturdy  of  character  —  the  genuine  old  New  Englander 
whom  we  delight  to  honor. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Mr.  Small  based  his  work  almost  entirely  on  original  documents.  His 
main  sources  were  first,  the  official  records  of  the  various  towns,  colonies, 
and  states;  second,  the  transactions  and  publications  of  the  historical 
and  genealogical  societies ;  and  third,  the  histories  of  the  different  towns 
published  locally. 

Among  the  authorities  of  the  first-mentioned  class  may  be  named  the 
Boston  Town  Records  and  Selectmen's  Minutes,  and  the  Dorchester  Town 
Records,  both  published  by  the  Boston  Record  Commissioners ;  the  State 
and  Provincial  Papers  of  New  Hampshire,  published  by  authority  of  the 
New  Hampshire  legislature;  the  Rhode  Island  Colonial  Records;  and  the 
Records  of  the  Colony  and  Plantation  of  New  Haven.  The  official  records 
of  many  of  the  separate  towns  were  also  consulted. 

Among  those  of  the  second  type  may  be  named  the  publications  of  the 
Vermont  Historical  Society,  of  the  Colonial  Society  of  Massachusetts,  of 
the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  of  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society, 
and  also  the  N^e-w  England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register. 

The  following  local  histories,  among  others,  are  particularly  referred  to. 
A  few  other  books  are  included  in  the  list. 

Reed,  Parker  McCobb.  History  of  Bath  (Maine)  and  Environs,  etc. 
Portland,  1894. 

Cochrane,  Harry  H.  History  of  Monmouth  and  Wales  (Maine).  East 
Winthrop,  1894. 

Eaton,  Cyrus.  History  of  Thomaston,  Maine.  Masters,  Smith  &  Co., 
Hallowell,  1865. 

Secomb,  Daniel  Franklin.  History  of  the  Town  of  Amherst,  Hills- 
borough County,  New  Hampshire.   Concord,  N.  H.,  1883. 

Cochrane,  Warren  Robert.  History  of  the  Town  of  Antrim,  New 
Hampshire,  to  June  27,  1877.    Manchester,  N.  H.,  1880. 

Whiton,  John  Milton.  History  of  the  Town  of  Antrim,  New  Hamp- 
shire, for  a  Period  of  One  Century.  McFarland  &  Jenks,  Concord, 
1852. 

Coffin,  Charles  Carleton.  History  of  Boscawen  and  Webster,  New 
Hampshire.    Concord,  N.  H.,  1878. 

Chase,  Benjamin.  History  of  Old  Chester  from  1719  to  1869.  Auburn, 
N.  H.,  1869. 

397 


398  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Concord  Town  Records,  1732-1820.    Concord,  1894. 

BouTON,  Nathaniel.    History  of  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  from  its  first 

grant  in  1725,  etc.    Sanborn,  Concord,  1856. 
Moore,  Jacob  Bailey,  Jr.    Historical  Sketch  of  Concord,  in  the  County 

of  Merrimack,  New  Hampshire.    Concord,  1824. 
Stevens,  Hermon  Weed.     Garrison   Hill  School  District,  Dover,  New 

Hampshire.    Pine  Hill  School  District,  Dover,  New  Hampshire. 
Leonard,  Levi  Washburn.   History  of  Dublin,  New  Hampshire.  Wilson, 

Boston,  1855. 
Stark,  Caleb.    History  of  the  Town  of  Dunbarton,  Merrimack  County, 

New  Hampshire.   G.  P.  Lyon,  Concord,  i860. 
Bell,  Charles  Henry.   Exeter  in  1776.    Exeter,  1876. 
Norton,  John  Foote.    History  of  Fitzwilliam,  New  Hampshire,  from 

1752  to  1887.    Burr  Printing  House,  New  York,  1888. 
Cochrane,  Warren  Robert  and  Wood,  George  K.   History  of  Frances- 
town,  New  Hampshire,  from  1758  to  1891.    Barker,  Nashua,  1895. 
Lancaster,  Rev.  Daniel.    History  of  Gilmanton.    Prescott,  Gilmanton, 

1845. 
Hayward,  Silvanus.    History  of  the  Town  of  Gilsum,  New  Hampshire, 

from  1752  to  1879.   J-  ^-  Clark,  Manchester,  1881. 
Dow,  Joseph.    History  of  the  Town  of  Hampton,  New  Hampshire,  1638- 

1892.    Salem,  1893. 
Cogswell,  Leander  W.    History  of  the  Town  of  Henniker,  Merrimack 

County,  New  Hampshire.    Concord,  N.  H.,  1880. 
Worcester,  Samuel  Thomas.   Early  History  of  Hollis,  New  Hampshire. 

Boston,  1874. 
Lord,  Charles  C.     Life   and  Times  in  Hopkinton,  New  Hampshire. 

Concord,  N.  H.,  1890. 
Hale,  Salma.   Annals  of  the  Town  of  Keene  from  1734  to  1790.   Concord, 

1826. 
Potter,  Chandler  Eastman.    History  of  Manchester,  formerly  Derry- 

field.  New  Hampshire.    C.  E.  Potter,  Manchester,  1856. 
Bemis,  Charles  A.  History  of  the  Town  of  Marlborough,  Cheshire  County, 

New  Hampshire.   G.  H.  Ellis,  Boston,  1881. 
Cogswell,  Ellio'it  C.  (Compiler).    History  of  New  Boston.    Rand  and 

Avery,  Boston,  1864. 
Kidder,  Frederic  and  Gould,  Augustus  Addison.    History  of  New 

Ipswich  from  its  first  grant,  etc.    Gould  and  Lincoln,  Boston,  1852. 
Wheeler,  Edmund.    History  of  Newport,  New  Hampshire,  from  1766  to 

1878,  etc.   Concord,  N.  H.,  1879. 
Smith,  Albert,  M.D.   History  of  the  Town  of  Peterborough,  Hillsborough 

County,  New  Hampshire.   George  H.  Ellis,  Boston,  1876. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  399 

Brewster,  Charles  Warren.    Rambles  about  Portsmouth.   Portsmouth, 

N.  H.,  1859,  1869. 
FuLLONTON,   Joseph.   History   of   Raymond,   New   Hampshire.    Dover, 

N.  H.,  1875. 
MacDuffee,  Franklin.   History  of  the  Town  of  Rochester,  New  Hamp- 
shire, from  1722  to  1890.    Clarke,  Manchester,  1892. 
Dearborn,  John  T.    History  of  Salisbury,  New  Hampshire.    Manchester, 

1890. 
Runnels,  Moses  Thurston.    History  of  Sanbornton,  New  Hampshire. 

A.  Mudge,  Boston,  1881. 
Worthen,  Augusta  Harvey  (Editor).    History  of  Sutton,  New  Hamp- 
shire.  Concord,  1890. 
Read,  Benjamin.    History  of  Swanzey,  New  Hampshire.   Salem,  1892. 
Blood,  H.  A.    History  of  Temple,  New  Hampshire.    Boston,  i860. 
Little,   William.      History   of   Weare,    New    Hampshire,    1735-1888. 

Lowell,  Mass.,  1888. 
Livermore,  Abiel  Abbot  and  Putnam,  Sewall.    History  of  the  Town 

of  Wilton,  Hillsborough  County,  New  Hampshire,  etc.    Lowell,  Mass., 

1888. 
Peabodv,  Ephraim.   Address  at  the  Centennial  Celebration  in  Wilton, 

New  Hampshire,  etc.   B.  H.  Greene,  Boston,  1839. 
Morrison,  Leonard  Allison.   History  of  Windham  in  New  Hampshire, 

1 7 19  to  1883.    Cupples,  Upham  &  Co.,  Boston,  1883. 
McKeen,  Silas.    History  of  Bradford,  Vermont,  1 765-1874.    Clark  and 

Son,  Montpelier,  Vt,  1875. 
Mansfield,  David  Lufkin.    History  of  the  Town  of  Dummerston,  Ver- 
mont, etc.   Ludlow,  Vt,  1884. 
Dana,   Henry    Swan.     History   of   Woodstock,   Vermont.     Houghton, 

Mifflin  and  Co.,  Boston,  1889. 
Jameson,  J.  F.  (Editor).    Amherst,  Massachusetts.    Records  of  the  Town 

from  173s  to  1788.   Amherst,  Mass.,  1884. 
History  of  the  Town  of  Amherst,  Massachusetts,  1 731-1896.     Carpenter 

and  Morehouse,  Amherst,  1896. 
B.\iley,  Sarah  Lorixg.    Historical  Sketches  of  Andover,  Massachusetts. 

Houghton,  Mifflin  and  Co.,  Boston,  1880. 
HuNTOON,  Daniel  Thomas  Vose.    History  of  Canton,  Massachusetts. 

Cambridge,  1893. 
Hill,  Don  Gleason  (Editor).    Early  Records  of  the  Town  of  Dedham, 

1659-1673.    Dedham,  1894. 
Dedham  Historical  Register.    Dedham  Historical  Society.   Dedham,  1890. 
Trumbull,  James  Russell.     History  of  Northampton,  Massachusetts, 

from  its  settlement  in  1654.   Northampton,  1898. 


400  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  SCHOOLS 

Channing,  George  G.    Early  Recollections  of  Newport,  Rhode  Island, 

from  1793  to  181 1.    A.  J.  Ward,  Newport,  1868. 
Staples,   William    Read.    Annals    of  the   Town  of  Providence,   etc. 

Knowles  and  Vose,  Providence,  1843. 
Stockwell,  Thomas  Blanchard  (Editor).    History  of  Public  Education 

in  Rhode  Island  from  1636  to  1876.    Providence,  1876. 
Extracts  from  the  Records  of  Colchester,  etc.    Transcribed  by  Charles  M. 

Taintor.    Case,  Lockwood  &  Co.,  Hartford,  1864. 
The  One  Hundred  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  Organization  of  the  Congre- 
gational Church  in  Columbia,  Connecticut,  etc.    Case,  Lockwood  & 

Co.,  Hartford,  1867. 
Bailey,  James  Montgomery.    History  of  Danbury,  Connecticut,  1684- 

1896.    Burr  Printing  House,  New  York,  1896. 
Orcutt,  Samuel  and  Beardsley,  Ambrose.    History  of  the  Old  Town 

of  Derby,  Connecticut,  1642-1880.    Springfield,  Mass.,  1880. 
Gay,  Julius.    Schools  and  Schoolmasters  in  Farmington  in  the  Olden 

Time.    1892. 
Chapin,  Alonzo  Bowen.   Glastenbury  for  Two  Hundred  Years.   Case, 

Tiffany  &  Co.,  Hartford,   1853. 
HiBBARD,  Augustine  G.    History  of  Goshen,  Connecticut,  etc.    Case, 

Lockwood  &  Brainerd  Company,  Hartford,  1897. 
Mead,  Daniel  M.  and  Mead,  Spencer  Percival.   History  of  the  Town 

of  Greenwich,  Fairfield  County,  Connecticut.    Baker  and  Goodwin, 

New  York,  1857. 
Chipman,   Richard    Manning.     History  of  Harwinton,   Connecticut. 

Williams,  Wiley,  and  Turner,  Hartford,  i860. 
Perkins,  George  William.   Historical  Sketches  of  Meriden.    F.  E.  Hin- 

man.  West  Meriden,  1849. 
History    of    New    Britain    with    Sketches    of    Farmington    and    Berlin, 

Connecticut,   1640  to   1889.    W.  B.  Thomson  &  Co.,  New  Britain, 

1889. 
Bacon,  Leonard  W,  Historical  Discourse  on  the  Two  Hundredth  Anni- 
versary of  the  Founding  of  the  Hopkins  Grammar  School.    New 

Haven,  i860. 
Barber,  John  Warner.   History  and  Antiquities  of  New  Haven.    Barber, 

New  Haven,  1831. 
Caulkins,  Frances  Manwaring.  History  of  New  London,  Connecticut. 

New  London,  1852  and  1895. 
Orcutt,  Samuel.    History  of  New  Milford  and  Bridgewater,  Connecticut, 

1703-1882.    Case,  Lockwood  &  Co.,  Hartford,  1882. 
Perkins,  Mary  E.   Old  Houses  of  the  Antient  Town  of  Norwich,  1660- 

1680.  Norwich,  Conn.,  1895. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  401 

Teller,  Daniel  W.    History  of  Ridgefield,  Connecticut,  etc.    Donovan, 

Danbury,  1878. 
Huntington,  Elijah  Baldwin.    History  of  Stamford,  Connecticut,  etc. 

Stamford,  1868. 
Orcutt,  Samuel.    History  of  the  Old  Town  of  Stratford  and  the  City  of 

Bridgeport,  Connecticut.   New  Haven,  1886. 
Orcutt,  Samuel.    History  of  Torrington,  Connecticut,  etc.    Munsell, 

Albany,  1878. 
Davis,  Charles  Henry  Stanley.   History  of  Wallingford,  Connecticut, 

etc.    Meriden,  1870. 
Burton,  Warren.  The  District  School  as  It  Was.  Carter,  Hendee  &  Co., 

Boston,  1833.    Phillips,  Sampson  &  Co.,  Boston,  1850. 
Tuer,  Andrew  White.    History  of  the  Horn-Book.    Leadenhall  Press, 

London,  1896. 
American  Journal  0/  Education,  founded  by  Henry  Barnard. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


,,r\> 


1961 

9.^ 


A9^^ 


OCT  1  7  1^6t 
WAR  1  S  1962 

APR  1 1  1?^'^ 
MAY  2  8  19621 

JUL   2      1^62 
m^2  2  1963 

NOV  9,  5  1963 

JUL  1 9  ^^^^ 
MAR  1  6  1967 


ig^FINE  IF  NOT  RETtlRNED  TO 

"""TION  LIBRARY 


RECEIVED 

FEB  2  3  1968 

Ftb  2  7  19G8 

SB./  PSYCtt 


FEB  27  1969 


•••'    HSYCM. 
W»HARY 


P^O  17  19W 

RECEfVED 

FEB  1  7  1972 


Form  L9-60m-9,'60(BS610B4)444 


EOU. /PSYCH. 
U8RARY 


FEB  161989 
RECEIVEDl 

ED/r«TOH  UB. 


U 

206 

S63e 


SUPPLIED  BY 

THE  SEVF.N  BOOKHUNTERS 

>UD   CHELSEA    STATION,    BOX    22 
NEW    YORK    11.   N.    Y. 


